#but on the other hand they have a sorta unnerving look that works great for creepy haunted doll dragons lmao

[bobby-rising]

at last....... this thing gets eyes

[barry-j-blupjeans]

The neighbor is being loud again and blupjeans?? :0 thankie !!

17. The neighbor is being loud again

((35 situation prompts - still accepting!!))

--

Barry, frankly, didn't mind a lot of shit. He wasn't the most patient or forgiving person, but he knew when to stay out of other people's business. He tried to treat people the same way he wanted to be treated, which was, to put it simply, to be left alone. So the first time the new tenant in the apartment next to him had a really loud party, Barry let it be. They were allowed to have fun, right? Who was he to stop them?

The second time- the very next night, actually- was a little more annoying. Barry had work in the morning. But they weren't screaming and their music taste was okay (not the flavor of music he enjoyed, but fine nonetheless) so he left them to it.

The third night in a row? Oh boy. Barry was gonna go over there and do something about it. But, y'know, talking to people is sorta hard sometimes, let alone people he had never met before. So he stayed in bed.

On the fourth night, Barry was gonna do something.

And it only took three more nights for him to actually work up the nerve to do it!

It was Sunday, a week after the new neighbor had first moved it. Barry had begun to dread going to bed. Like clockwork, the music started at 10:30 PM and Barry slipped on his shoes. He hadn't gotten dressed for bed yet. He could do that after he talked to them. He grabbed his keys by the door, the heavy bass of their music steadily rising in frequency, and walked the few steps to his neighbors' door.

He stalled in front of it for a few minutes. Was he overreacting? He felt like he was overreacting. But fuck, he was supposed to be representing his client in court on Tuesday morning and tomorrow would be necessary crunch time.

Barry knocked.

All at once, the music halted. Someone cut themselves off mid-laugh and the voices he had heard from inside silenced. It was not so quiet that all Barry could really hear was his own breathing. Something about the silence was now unnerving in a way it had never been before. Barry realized that he couldn't hear crickets chirping anymore.

The door opened just enough for someone to peak through and there stood his new neighbor.

She was taller than Barry by a good few inches. The heels probably weren't helping. She certainly looked like the life of the party. Her hair looked windswept, an organized set of curls. She had a red dress on. She was holding a red solo cup in her hand.

One of her ears was long and pointed. She must have seen Barry staring at it because she moved to tuck some hair behind her ear and suddenly it was back to normal.

"Uhm," Barry said. He had forgotten literally everything he had planned to say. "Hi."

"Hey."

They stared at each other. Barry wished he was back in his apartment. But it was too late for that, so he powered on.

"Uhm, I live next door-" he gestured down the hall. She didn't react. "-and I was just, uh, just wondering if you could tone it down a little bit? Don't let me stop you from- from having a good time! But I have work tomorrow and it's kinda hard to sleep with the music and the noise and all that."

She looked at him with a critical eye. Barry sort of felt like this was an entrance interview. He felt like he was failing miserably.

"Or- or not," Barry offered weakly. "You know, who am I to tell you what to do, right?" He laughed. She didn't respond. "I'm- I'll be going now, uh. Have fun."

He took a step back. And then another. And then he turned to flee towards his apartment, but her hand caught the edge of his sleeve.

"Barry," she said. Oh, great, she knew his name. Here he was, being the bad neighbor asking her to tone down her party, without even knowing her name. "Are you... chill?"

"Am I- what?"

"Are you chill?" she asked. "Can you vibe? What's your status on like, being cool."

"I..." Barry hesitated. He really needed to go to sleep. Maybe he was asleep, and this was a dream because the conversation had gone from sorta-good to I-have-no-clue-what's-happening. "I can vibe. I think."

"Great!" she said, yanking the door open and pulling him in by the sleeve of his jacket. Barry yelped and stumbled through the door. The noise started up again all at once. The floors were shaking to the beat of the music. Barry looked up.

It wasn't an apartment. Well, it was an apartment, but it was a fucked up one. The kitchen and living room were open, and all the furniture seemed to fade in and out of existence. The walls were made of stars, glittering almost too bright for him to see anything. There were dozens of people in here, more than Barry could fit into his own apartment, but the room seemed to go on for miles. It hurt his head to think about the dimensions of this room. Along the back wall, a row of doors were all opened and through them, Barry could see similar rooms.

When he looked back over at his neighbor, her ears had grown back to the long, pointy length. Her grin was now all teeth- sharp, threatening-looking teeth. She guided Barry towards a group of people. Barry was pretty sure only two of those people were humans.

"Fresh meat!" his neighbor said cheerfully, slinging her arm around his shoulder. Barry gulped. "Everyone, this is Barry. Barry, this is everyone."

He was going to be so late for work tomorrow.

[simpz-art-stash]

Late beginnings

Summary: Mac goes out for a drink, and happens upon some advice he takes into consideration about his skewered relationship with Wukong. Before finally taking some action to mend the long burnt bridge. (Author’s note: I barely did any beta reading for this so if it’s worded strangely that’s just how I write without the normal filter on. I’m country so HOWDY) Next Page ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The night was late, but he didn’t care, he might as well have been nocturnal with the way his whole life revolved around the whole stereotype of shadows and shit. He’d walked into a bar he’d passed through a few times before, donning his human disguise of course beforehand, and walked in without sparing anyone else a glance. Before planting his rear in one of the stools seated at the front bar, ordering a drink to get the night started. “I’m really looking forward to seeing that new Monkey King movie with the trailer they just released. You saw it too right?? The whole style of the film is on par with their most recent game- OH, you think they’re gonna make a game of it?? I bet you they wiiiill!~” Ugh, great, just what he’d come here to avoid.

Mac’s eyes glanced to the blabbermouth boasting about whatever new movie was being made about his ex, to see two girls residing a ways down near the other end of the bar a few seats away from him. Both looking to have had a fair night themselves already if any of the cups and plates hanging around their spot was anything to go by. “Probably. I hope it’s better than last game that came out on the Brick 360, the bugs in that thing were gross to deal with.” Their friend commented back. Before looking down at their phone and claiming that it was getting late and that they had to go. “Yeah I’ll see ya Monday!” The chick waved their friend off a lazy farewell after they’d paid their bill before going back to their drink, now taking less tedious sips as the mood seemed to smooth out from their conversation prior. “I see someone’s a pretty big fan of that ol’ man.” Macaque piped up from where he sat, earning the attention of the stranger he’d directed his comment towards. “The Monkey King yeah?” Sparks danced in the chick’s eyes at the recognition of the name, before the stranger perked up and beamed a smile back at him, “You betcha! I’m a total nerd for that legend.” ‘A legend, hah.’ “S’the whole reason I moved to China in the first place.” She jabbed a thumb at her chest, “All the way from America!” Mac whistled, “That’s a pretty far leap to take, even for a legend. What, you hopin’ you’ll get the chance to see em’ or somethin’?” He sneered, taking his glass and lazily swirling it in his hand. “I wish!” She laughed, “Nah I mostly just moved here for work. If anything though it’s cuz a them for where I am now. I’d never even heard of him till about five years ago!” Mac blinked, lowering his drink from his lips, “You’re joking…”

“Not at all! No one hardly knows the story back home. Only reason I found out was cuz I just started gettin’ into anything monkey-related as a hobby.” She pointed at him, “Don’t laugh either, it’s a wildly popular standpoint to have these days online.” Mac quirked a brow at that, he’d hardly touched the internet these days save for whenever he needed some quick info on something he couldn’t find elsewhere. He held his hands up, “Hey I ain’t judging…” He smirked a little to betray the look that he totally was though. It was kinda funny how ironic it was him being there right then. She squinted at him, “Anyways...Yeah, I’d seen stuff of him online, but I’d never paid much attention to it up until recently.” “What made you change your mind?” Mac boredly probed, taking a sip. She simply shrugged, “I was in a dark headspace, guy made me laugh.” He paused, “Wait, seriously??” “I mean have you HEARD half the crazy shit he’s done??” ‘Babe I’ve LIVED through half the shit he’s done.’ “Like, literally, the guy is HILARIOUS. My favorite story out of them all being one where he literally tricked THREE taoist immortals into drinking his own piss!!” She burst out laughing while Mac choked on his drink a little, not having expected to hear that of all things. Sure he’d heard a few of the shenanigan’s his peaches had gotten up to throughout his journey to the west but he’d never heard that one before. Nor had he the patience to read through all that mess of context that had been published either. “Ahhh man, it still gets me…” The chick sighed with a few leftover laughs as she wiped a tear from her eye. “What about you? What’s your favorite story?” She asked. And suddenly Mac felt like he’d been put on the spot as he stared back at her. “Come ooon, surely there’s one that’s gotten your gut rolling.” She pried. ‘Plenty, but there ain’t no way in hell I’d tell a soul.’ “Bahh...there ain’t the first one that comes to mind that I’d like. Honestly I’m not even much of a fan.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Whaaat?? Aw come on! There’s tons of cool n’ funny stories!” “Heh..can’t imagine what you find so charming about a guy who’s too good for his own friends.” Mac spitefully twacked himself mentally for spewing something so personal like that out. Ugh, and he hadn’t even finished half his drink yet… The chick sitting to his left seemed to tilt her head a little before she squinted at him. Her silence being what brought his attention from his drink to her as he blinked back with a quirked brow. “What?” “Your eyes, they’re like raging storm clouds.” She pointed out. He blinked, not really sure how to feel about that. The only one who’d ever really pointed that out to him before was… “...So?” “Nothing!...” She shrugged, turning back away towards her own drink as if no conversation at all had happened between them. Whatever...he had his fill of shit to drink to either way. The night might’ve been late but he was just getting started. “He makes me laugh though.” She pointed out, earning her a glance. “All his stories n’ stuff. If there was ever a man I’d want, it’d be one who could always make me laugh.” “Hmph, not one for strength?” He took a long sip. Ignoring the bitterness of others fawning over someone he’d come to love before he’d gotten so popular. “Strength is fine n’ all, but it can only take a relationship so far..you gotta have more pieces to put in that crockpot of a relationship if you wanna make it taste good. Stuff like patience, honesty, a little bit of everything to help it all come together to make it juuuuust right.” “Hm…” “It can’t be all just you putting the stuff in there either, it’s gotta be a contribution from both gardens. Otherwise you’ll just barren your lands and be left with nothing to spare yourself or others in your life with.” She glanced at Mac, “Relationships are tricky like that, but they should always be a 50/50 split~” She winked. That...actually sounded like pretty sound advice. Something he’d heard a little here and there before but never so simply laid out. Though it made sense from his standpoint, fairness n’ all that. But he’d been that way with Wukong before and it had never worked out, all the bickering and such, so what had gone wrong? “Can I...ask you something?” Mac inquired. “Shoot.” “What’re your thoughts on..a relationship that seemed fine, but then the other changed so much that everything about it fell apart?” “Mmm...care to sprinkle in a lil more context?” The chick eyed him. Mac’s face scrunched up a little, no idea why he was asking some random mortal for relationship advice of all things. “Hey man. We’re both probably never gonna meet again after tonight, so if you’ve got skeletons in your closet, your best place to let em’ out is here. Bartenders are known for being the most well kept secret keepers in all the world after all~” She winked at the bartender in question who simply looked the other way with a look that might’ve suggested such a fact as truth. “Hm…” Ah screw it, “Alright alright…” He sighed and put his drink down, “There’s..someone. We used to be real close, we were strong together but then uh..shit got real and he had to go deal with it. But when he came back he uh, wasn’t the same as before, an I might’ve sorta assumed he was cheating on me so…so we kinda fell out.” The chick nodded, “Ahh..the classic misunderstanding of change and cheating, a tale as old as time.” She seemed to hum a moment before she turned from where she was seated, if not to hop down off her stool and plop down on the one right up next to him. “Uh-” “Shhh, lemme see those eyes.” She squinted, leaning in and staring deep into his. It’d would’ve been really unnerving if she hadn’t said anything about them before, now he was a lil put off that he might’ve been asking a witch of all things for advice… “Right. Well, at least you feel bad about it. So there’s that.” He blinked and his brows furrowed, “Wh- of course I feel bad about it, it was his fault-” He suddenly had a finger pressed to his lips. “Nope! Nooononono, you do not get to throw all the blame elsewhere like that sweetheart. There ain’t no way in hell you’re gettin’ a second chance with them if you keep that up.” She pulled her hands back. His face scrunched up and he found himself crossing his arms, if he had his tail out it would’ve been irritably swaying behind him right then at just how annoyed he was getting at this weird lady and her words. “Oh yeah? An what do you think’s best then huh?” “I dunno if you’d be up for that kinda challenge…” She idly fiddled with an imaginative piece of lint off her sleeve, which only seemed to irritate Mac further at the thought of him not being able to handle Wukong of all people. Like sure he’d gotten his ass handed to him before but he could still hold his own! “Try me.” The chick glanced back at him with a smirk, which caught him off guard for a second before he shot her a glare back. “Alright, but it’s definitely not gonna be as quick or easygoing of a recovery as you might hope it’ll be. Nor is there even a chance of you recovering it in the first place. But, you at least got that spark enough to try so who am I to deny?” ‘Hmpt, dam right I got a spark.’

“First of all, no more blaming, if you’re gonna tackle this properly, you gotta do yourselves a favor an quit it with the blame placing. Sure it’s easy, but it ain’t gonna get you nowhere but back to square one. It’s all in the past, the now is now. So push forward to fix it and put it behind you two so you can focus on the more important things.” “Easier said than done…” “Hey man, even if they don’t follow the same ruleset at first you could always work things out to make it one later on. I’m just tellin’ ya right now so you won’t just go diggin’ yourself a deeper hole.” Honestly at this point he was pretty much six feet down under, death to him would’ve been a mercy right then. “Fine…” He rolled his eyes. “Next up, apologizing…” -----------~----------- “I thought I told you to stay off my island.” Mac didn’t really glance back from where he stood high up on one of the breathtaking ledges that which Flower Fruit Mountain bolstered. His arms crossed, eyes sternly held against the leftover warmth of the late afternoon sun as it shifted the skies hues from blue to blood red. Hopefully that would be the only tinge of red the Mountain would see after today. “I know.” “What, no witty remark? Give me one good reason-” “I just wanted to talk.” Mac stated plainly. “Why the hell should I give you the chance?” “...” Mac wasn’t sure if he could come up with a good enough reason after the shitshow he’d caused him the last few centuries, most recent being his spat with him between MK. “I’m sorry.” That seemed to catch the king off guard, as he paused in his vicious glare to stare at the other. “Excuse me??” “I’m.Sorry.” Mac turned finally to Wukong, that look of fiery malice having softened immensely upon meeting their eyes. “I was wrong for what I did and I’m sorry.” Wukong’s face looked like it had had a stroke with how frozen in place it was, almost like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Hurting everyone around you just to get back at you, I was wrong for doing that. And I just wanted to apologize.” Mac’s face twisted a little, the words coming out a little rougher than he’d liked, but he’d managed to get three steps in so far… “If you think a few sorry’s are gonna be enough to make up for all that crap then you gotta nother’ thing comin Mac.” Wukong finally shook off the surprise and crossed his arms with a steely gaze. “Nah I know they ain’t worth shit with as long as it's been...which it’s been..a really, really long time come to think of it..nearly 3000 years…” Fucking yikes. “What’s your point?...” Wukong raised a brow at him. “My point is...my point..” What was his point? To make amends and hope they’d get back together? To go back to the way things were? That couldn’t be done with the way things were now. Wukong had a successor, a moral compass, a lotta shit that Mac didn’t. A lotta shit that he wanted but never could figure out how to get his own. His face scrunched up a little and he sighed, “I..just wanted to make things right.” “Oh-hoh? After so long you finally decided to admit you were at fault? Sorry Mac, but it’s waaaay too late for that.” Wukong huffed, “Honestly, this is probably just another one of your stupid tricks if anything. The old Macaque would never throw himself down like that.” “Well maybe I’ve changed!” Mac exclaimed suddenly, his temper flaring a bit as his eyes flashed lightning. “3000 years later? As if…” Wukong rolled his eyes and turned away, “You’ve still got that same look in your eyes you always do whenever we fight. Do me a favor and just keep away from the hot springs this time yeah? The last time you were here you sent a whole dam boulder over there and smashed half the pools.” He waved his hand dismissively. “And I happen to take my once a month bath’s very seriously.” Mac’s nostrils flared a little at just how flamboyant Wukong was acting towards him and his attempt to make amends. How he just saw his attempt as a joke and nothing more, it pissed him off. Wukong had changed and everyone had accepted him, well not everyone, but still, why couldn’t the same be for him? Had he really fooled himself into believing that there was a chance he and Wukong could be together again? His shoulders slumped a little. Of course, who was he kidding. A 3000 year old pit of grudges wasn’t about to just up and disappear at the wave of a white flag. This was Wukong, the same guy who still playfully pestered the gods and demons around him for past conflicts that had happened between them. -----------~----------- “But you can’t just go, ‘ooo I’m so sorry for what I did.’ Nah, you gotta follow the five steps.” The chick claimed. “Yeesh, this a learning course now?” Mac tilted his head to the side. “It is if you wanna make things right.” She claimed matter a factly. “The five steps have never failed me before and have worked wonders for any an all my relationships. Might not quite have the same range of effect you’re going for but it’ll at least be a good start.” “Heh, you got the guts to back up that case?” Mac sneered. “I will if you don’t manage to screw it up.” The chick pointed out. “The five steps go as follows.” - express sorrow (I’m sorry) - own guilt (I was wrong) - name specific wrongs (I did X) - name impact (I hurt you) “And finally...” -----------~----------- “What can I do to prove myself to you?” Macaque asked finally. “What can I do to at least make it to where we can..not fight anymore..and just talk?...” Wukong stood there for a long moment, his features unreadable as their silence was muffled by the wind bellowing between them both from being so high up. “You really are serious about this aren’t you?...” Wukong’s head shifted ever so slightly, but not enough to where Mac could get a reading on his emotions. “I’m tired of fighting and waiting and thinking that if enough time passes things’ll go back to the way they were...when they never will. Trying to hurt you isn’t gonna make the old you come back, no matter how many times you beat me down...It’ll never be the same.” Mac admitted finally. A quiet gust settled down between them, before Wukong seemed to let out a dry chuckle and shook his head. “Can’t believe it took me 3000 years to beat the sense into you.” He turned and looked back at the other, where he no longer held a look of seething hate, but more akin to that of the same tired look just as the one Mac wore. Mac felt a sliver of guilt wriggle its way into one of the cracks of his heart and he glanced away, pulling a hand back and scratching his head. “Yeah well...your kid hit me pretty hard last time, enough to knock it in place.” A small smile crept a little onto his face. “Hm~ He’s gettin’ pretty good at hittin’ stuff with that old stick.” Wukong’s eyes glinted a little at the appeal of how proud he was for MK having taken Mac out the way he did. A little over the top and flashy, just like him.” “He’s got a pretty strong master to thank for that…” Mac found himself yearning a little for that same glint to be reflected on his memory the same way as MK’s. Not that he couldn’t see himself holding the same appeal for MK the way Wukong did, kid was strong, just a lil desperate in some of the cracks that shaped his outline. Something Macaque found that was easy enough to take advantage of, and something Wukong held a blind eye to. “Hm.” Wukong’s reply pushed him out of those thoughts for the moment as they shared a brief look between one another. A glimmer of reconsideration flashing between the two before Wukong finally turned his head away to drink in the sunset before them. “One chance.” Mac felt his heart nearly stop at that answer. “I’ll give you one chance, but if you screw this up, don’t even think about showing your face to me again.” Wukong replied, “I mean it this time…” Mac swallowed a little and nodded. Anything, he’d be willing to do anything to gain back what little trust he could from Wukong. “Good...you can start making up for it by apologizing to MK.” Mac blinked and sputtered a little as Wukong turned away and began to make his way back down the mountain. A smile playing on his lips while Macaque groaned to the heavens about his next trial.

[jangofctts]

Sink Your Teeth In (Part 2 of Are You In Or Out?)

Rated: Explicit (Paz is in the next chapter DONT WORRY)

Word count: 7.5k

Warnings: mentions of violence, blood, the cold?, reader is in PERIL YET AGAIN, vaginal fingering, oral female receiving, unprotected vaginal sex (wrap them schlongs yall), brief hand jobs, swearing, angst, very VERY light choking, din is a sub sorta?? bottom energy 

Summary: Well. At least you aren't dead. After a solo hunt gone wrong, you’re dumped in a cave on Csilla. Hopefully someone finds you before you freeze to death.  

a/n: hey…so uh. HOW ABOUT THAT EPISODE HUH?!? aheM anyway--yall I just wanna thank everyone first off for all the love and support!!! I see all of your comments and tags and AH IM SO LUCKY TO HAVE ALL OF YOU GUYS. ALSO SPECIAL SHOUTOUT TO @djxrxn​ THIS WOULDNT HAVE BEEN DONE WITHOUT YOU BB GORL

Well—

Here you are. 

Taken by surprise by another bounty, further proving how irrevocably incompetent you are at this line of work. You blame the binders. An older, clunkier model—easy to pick if you’re clever enough and yes. Maybe you should’ve asked to borrow a carbonite chamber, but hey—where’s the fun in that? 

Not much, as it so happens. 

Your feet had been kicked up on the dashboard, dozing and unaware of the freed bounty creeping up behind the pilot’s seat. Something delightfully blunt smashed against your temple, jolting you into a brief conscious state where the only thing you could think before passing out again, was a resounding— 

Oh, fuck me sideways with a fucking lightsaber—

The rest is hazy. A blur of colors and the fuzzy shapes of your bounty’s face sneering in amusement when she bound your wrists and ankles and left you in the cargo hold. Vaguely you recall your ship being commandeered, swung into an unidentified atmosphere and landing on said unknown planet Or planets. Planet hopping to cover up a trail. 

The bitter cold, sharper than a needle through skin is what shook off the last dregs of unconsciousness. The bounty’s hand was hooked into the collar of your clothes, dragging your limp body through drifts of snow and ice. You would’ve fought back—should’ve even though each extremity felt like a numb block of lead. Not very useful in a fight…

Soon, the snow turned to mud and the mud to stone as a mouth of a cave slid over the impossibly blue sky. Dumped in a cave, and left to die—perfect way to bite the dust. Your bounty turned captor lands a sharp kick to your ribs, mouthing some curse in a language you don’t understand, and left without a second thought. 

Seems about right. You have a knack for lying helpless and half dead in places you ought not to be in. 

Two days and counting, you’ve been holed up in this blasted cave with no food, no supplies and no comlink. It’s going be a fucking chore to find you—nearly impossible. You’re lucky in that aspect you guess—you know enough bounty hunters to sniff out a a needle in a whole stack of needles, so all it is is a race of time against the elements and how long it takes for one of them to notice.            

Aeris is no help. He left a day before you had—hired as personal protection for some syndicate leader halfway across the galaxy. Ives is in a similar boat, off-world and unavailable to drag your ass out of the hole you’ve dug. Which leaves…

You sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose between your forefinger and thumb. Anytime you even think of those two a migraine cumulates behind your eyes. It’s…it’s not like anything bad happened in the aftermath—there’s been no fallout or arguments with barbed words as weapons. It’s been quiet. Like stepping onto a sheet of cracked transparisteel in a library full of tight-lipped academics. 

The questions lurk under the surface of every conversation and longing look cast your way. You’ll need to clarify and sort things out eventually, but fuck—it’s such a mess of frazzled heartstrings and fine strands of impossible thoughts that lead into an endless void of doubt. You’re shoving that emotional time bomb to the very back of your mind—everything is still so raw…  

So you ran. 

Picked up any and all jobs that the Guild provided just to escape the looming decision of confronting a certain pair of Mandalorians. That and with them having their own tasks to complete, it was rare to see them, let alone together in the past few weeks. A simple run in here and there in the halls of the Covert, but you were too busy to stop and chat—forced a chaotic schedule upon yourself as an excuse to avoid staying in once place at a time.    

Coward.

The word knots in your stomach like gnarled tree roots escaping their prison of dark soil on untrodden land.  

Maker—how did everything become so tangled? 

You draw your knees up to your chest and release a long, drawn out exhale that echoes through the cave. You sniff and force the swell of tears that prick at your eyes away. You’re pretty sure they’ll freeze and you’re not hoping to find out. 

The only good thing about being dropped on this Maker-forsaken, wasteland devoid of anything but snow, is the free ice for the nasty gash on your forehead. A nice little parting gift. 

It’s shallow…you think—it stopped bleeding the night before and is now just a scabbed over, tender wound that throbs whenever you move your head too fast. Concussion maybe—a mild one.  

Maker willing when someone finds your sorry ass they’ll have bacta. Or a blanket. Either would be peachy.     

Sitting up with a wince, you shuffle to the mouth of the cave for the thousandth time and scour the skyline for a familiar ship. Or, any ship really. The only thing you do see is a lonesome wisp of cloud against the grayish blue sky much to your chagrin. You scowl and stalk back into your little hovel and slump back onto the ground. 

The hours drag on, the watery light of the dying sun barely doing anything to warm you. Sulking is hardly what you should be doing—not great for the burdened mind and all that, but ah, it’s so fun to wallow in misery. You curl your knees up to your chest and you must slip into a doze because when you’re snapped back into the present, footsteps punch through the frozen tundra outside your cave.  

Adrenaline crackles down your spine—the bounty changed her mind. Ultimately decided she’d be safer in the long run with you dead. Fine.

If this is where your grave is going to be, might as well get in one or two punches. What’s another black eye anyway?

A shadow flickers at the mouth of the cave, curling around the wall as she draws closer. A brown boot kicks through the snow and— 

“Changed your mind? I—“

Your words die on your tongue as relief floods your veins. Din Djarin stands before you, a sight for sore eyes in these trying times. 

Frost glitters on the burgundy chest plate, glinting in the dim sunlight that touches the mouth of the cave. A delicate feathering of the dainty crystals that no high end lace maker could ever hope to mimic curls up the front of Din’s visor and eats away at the edges of his cloak. His heavy step forward reverberates off the walls, some of that ease replaced by the prickle of dread. His silence is unnerving. 

“Din,” you say again, just so he’ll say something. “I can—“

You move to stand, but he interrupts with a halting;

“Sit.”       

Your mouth snaps shut and you drop back on the floor. This…is not good. His footsteps are heavy as he approaches you and every muscle in your frame tightens like a fist wrapping around your ribcage and squeezing. The precise edges of his helmet are not a forgiving sight and even when he kneels onto one knee you have to resist the natural urge to flinch. Like this, despite hunching over, Din is broad. All hard muscle and sinew amplified by the bulky layer of beskar.   

Your tongue runs over the insides of your teeth as you track his hand that he thrusts foreword. You hiss and jerk away at the sudden needly pain when his gloved thumb finds the edges of your head wound. A low sound of disapproval filters out through the helmet in a low metallic buzz. 

“You won’t need stitches,” he says. Din reaches into one of his various supply pouches and pulls out a tiny vile of bacta. He casually pulls off his right glove, unscrews the vile and smears the bacta over his thumb. This time you don’t make a sound, even though your nerves scream at the razor like sensation of his thumb working the bacta into the damaged flesh. He doesn’t ask how the injury happened and you don’t care to tell him. There’s a time and place for stories about battle scars and near misses—it’s much too fresh to be spoken of right now. 

The brief torture finally ends after once last glance over for other presenting injuries. He finds none, replaces his glove and stands with a muted grunt. You know what’s next. You’d rather avoid it—you aren’t keen on the berating lectures—as deserved as they are.      

“I found your ship on Sato 3,” Din begins with a growl. “Imagine my surprise when I found your bounty selling it for parts.”  

Ah, there it is. You wince and study your fingernails. “Pile of junk anyway…”

“I thought you’d be smarter about these things,” he snarls, his sharp tone deadly enough to slice through bone. “Was the hole blown into your lung not enough for you?”

You swallow and bite your tongue.  

The bristling Mandalorian, continues and jabs an orange tipped finger at you. “You are reckless.”

Your chest constricts as you look away, shame blooming in the pit of your stomach.This is a new facet of Din you’ve never encountered. You aren’t naïve—even the most docile of people can harbor a temper, you know that. And you know Din is by no means passive—he’s an elite warrior equipped with a small arsenal at his disposal. You don’t expect him to coddle you or treat you different than any other companion; but…but it’s hard not to take his ire to heart. Not when it’s the kind of anger that boils deep in your chest and erupts with molten streams that leaves scathing wounds and blistered feelings.  

You chew your lip hard enough to taste blood and avoid his piercing gaze. You think if you do you might catch fire and burn to a crisp. “I’m sorry.”   

The meek apology settles in the air like a heavy fog. Din’s anger still brews, looming and dark but he reigns in his temper and switches out the searing cadence of his words with chilly informality. You’re not sure which is worse.   

“No more bounties.” 

“What?” Your brows knit together. The fuck does he mean.  

“No more hunts alone—“  

You interrupt with a scoff. “You’re grounding me?”

He strides across the small space and plants himself on the opposing wall. “Until you’re competent enough, you have no business being out in the field. You might as well be bait at this point.” 

“Competent.” You echo through clenched teeth.  

His helmet dips, leveling a steady glare of indifference. “The Crest is a half cycle’s walk from here. In the morning I’m taking you back to Nevarro.”   

“I’m not a child. You can’t just,” you throw your hands up in dismay, “ban me from bounty hunting.”    

Din’s armor clinks together as he moves to sit. He rests one elbow on his propped up knee, extends his other and rolls his helmet to meet your eyes. “Your actions reflect the Covert now. We can’t risk discovery because of one stupid mistake or a careless loose end.”    

That hadn’t even crossed your mind. Stars, you want to smack yourself. Your ship, as shitty as it was, hosted a good chunk of sensitive information, all encrypted and translated into binary. A mediocre slicer could hack through it in hours. Not exactly foolproof but hey, at least you had something. Good thing your bounty wasn’t in the market of selling stolen ships to the Empire. 

“Din?”

The Mandalorian makes no noise of affirmation that he heard you. You sigh and take his silence as a go ahead and clear your throat. “How long was I gone for?”

Here, in the cave it’s been nearly three days, but the rest of it you’re not exactly sure. Hunting the bounty down took up at least a week or two and even longer to capture her and there’s no accounting for the time lost after your ship was commandeered. Your teeth roll over your bottom lip as you wait for him to respond. 

“Almost two months.” He replies evenly. “Your transmissions were cut three weeks ago and I didn’t think anything of it. Comms are always patchy in Wild Space."

Leather creaks as his fist balls at his side. “You didn’t answer for days. Paz and I tracked the ship to Sato 3, but you weren’t there. Do you know how difficult it was to pick through all the planets recorded on your log?”

You blink and return to picking at your fingernails. 

“You weren’t easy to find, I—“ He severs the rest of his sentence with a crackling sigh and tilts his head back. “You’re lucky.”    

The hesitance lacing his words makes you bite your tongue, the snarky retort crumbling to ash in your mouth. Din doesn’t bother to filter his words—he’s blunt. Efficient and to the point when he does decide to speak. That…well that was different.   

He was worried—

You rub at your cheek—numb with the cold and curl into yourself. Din was worried. Easily the most feared bounty hunter in the parsec, worried that he couldn’t find you.   

A different cold—one that settles deep into the marrow of your bones and hugs your soul with a sheet of frost, makes a home in your heart. The severity of what could’ve happened replaces that sheen of hilarity and fuck. You were closer to freezing to death than Din finding you here—alone in some stupid kriffing cave.  

Somehow the idea of that is worse than the brief brush of eternal slumber you had on Nar Shaddaa. Up to that point you expected to die young—no harm and no foul in it either. You had no attachments, no debt to pay—a drifter in an endless galaxy.    

Now you’re here, buckling under the weight of mismanaged friendships and your uncanny skill at weaseling into any and all trouble. 

Neither you or Din jump to fill the silence. The ashes of disaster settle in nicely with the frozen echo of an endless winter.      

It’d been a couple hours shy from sunset when Din arrived, the sun providing weak light that hardly touched the mouth of the cave. Now as the shadows grow longer and with the temperature dropping, the two of you are swallowed up by the unyielding darkness of night. 

Din shuffles and fishes out the solar light from his supply bag. It clicks on and warm, orange light illuminates the cave. It bounces off his beskar, fracturing the light like a million tiny suns in the tempered metal and in the impossibly dark visor. He looks up, and tosses the light over. 

You catch it easily and despite the warmness of the light it emits, it offers no heat for your chilled fingers. You set it to the side and tuck your hands into your armpits. 

By no means is the cave warm—the natural thermal vents kept the ground dry and free of the ice and snow that rages outside, but it doesn’t protect you from the occasion chilly draft that cuts through each layer you wear. Then again, you weren’t planning on taking an unexpected vacation on Csilla. No time to plan really.  

You sigh and pull your knees up to your chest and cast a glance at your ever radiant ray of sunshine across from you.  

He looks nice and cozy—leaned back against the cave wall, one leg crossed over the other while his hands sit intertwined just below his navel. The beskar must provide insulation—maybe a fancy heater in that bucket of his, or maybe he’s just too stubborn to show anything other than indifference.   

Another bout of shivers tear through your frame and you’re certain Din can hear the enamel of your teeth clack together. You shove your hands deeper into your armpits and tuck your chin into your chest to preserve heat and pray that sleep isn’t far off—can’t be cold if you’re unconscious.    

Metal scrapes over stone as Din readjusts himself and you can feel him looking at you. It’s not a terrible weight to bear; intense and analytic, sure and in the past it would’ve unnerved you. Now, instead of it feeling like he were peeling back each fibre of your soul each time he stares, it’s familiar. A pattern of sorts—

It happens each time Din wrestles with an uncertain question. He deals in absolutes, and it’s no surprise he rarely knows what to say to you. 

“You’re shivering,” he states. You roll your eyes. “Are you cold?”

“Boiling, actually,” you snip. “Why else would I forget a jacket?”

A sharp hiss of air crackles through the vocoder. “Don’t get mouthy with me. It was a simple question.”

“Well—there’s not much to do about it,” you sneer, watching your breath condensate in the air. “I’m freezing, exhausted, and hungry.”       

You know you’re being snide—but your nerves feel like they’ve been severed at the root with a dull vibroblade. You have neither the time nor energy to spare for simple questions. Din should understand that—seeing as he’s a man familiar with short temperament.

The space between you is ripe with crackling tension, and maybe—if you weren’t so fucking cold—you’d play the mediator. Thread stitches into the gash you both sliced into your friendship, as small it may be. You’ve lost friends over less—this could end up no different.

You sigh and turn your head. This is a problem for tomorrow. 

Irritated and upset, you squeeze your eyes shut and chase after sleep. You slip in a doze faster than expected, any and all discomfort fading away a you toe the line between a deeper sleep and waking dreams. You think you imagined Din saying your name—Maker you can’t even escape him in your own fucking head—  

It doesn’t end—like a nagging buzz that swells until it’s right near your ear. Spite spurs you to ignore It and exhaustion convinces you to drift further away. That is, until a hand, gentle and warm curls around your shoulder. You once again hear your name rumble low through Din’s helmet, but it’s much too difficult to open your eyes. Why can’t he leave you be? You barely feel the cold now…

“Stay awake.” Din sounds distant, in some other plane of existence despite the steady hold he has on your arm. “Maker—you’re colder than kriffing ice.” 

“Go away,” you grumble through numb lips. Such a pest.  

He’s talking—but the words don’t make sense. Muddled—split between that hazy line of dreaming and consciousness where you can’t decipher what’s real. His hands however—you can feel those plain as day. A bare palm cups your cheek—shreds through the layer of frost you’re positive has crystalized over your skin and rouses you to a more coherent level of presentness.       

“Don’t quit on me yet—“

“Nah,” you mumble. “I’m hard to…to kill. L-like a scrap rat…”  

Din grunts in response. “Rat is a compliment. You’re more of a spider-roach.”

The ends of your mouth quirk. It’s the best you can do—a full smile just might push you to the brink of death.        

“C’mon—I won’t let either of us freeze,” Din sighs. His fingers find the magnetized latches on his cuirass and it slips off with practiced ease, the armored thigh plating following a moment later. He neatly sets it to the side and grabs his cloak to fasten it around you. With another sigh, Din shuffles in behind you and wraps an arm around your middle, nestling his legs and body snuggly around yours.   

Maker—you don’t have time to bother about the intimacy of this because all you’re drawn to is the furnace like heat. Fuck, he’s so warm. You have only a second to enjoy it before your body begins to thaw—bringing forth waves of achey pain.   

His chest molds to your back, both arms curling over your own arms that are scrunched up tight around your chest. You shake in his hold, vicious waves of cold clashing against his body heat—it hurts—like sticking your bare foot into hot coals.     

You squirm, little gasps of discomfort slipping out that echo around the cave. Din shifts, tucking you further under his body until he’s nearly crushing you. It’s a bit tricky to breathe like this but hey—you’re not complaining. Not when your nose is buried in his soft undershirt that smells purely of Din.   

Your fingers and toes still throb as they thaw, but it’s working. Cuddling Din Djarin to stave off hypothermia—sounds kriffing ridiculous. 

“You’re still shivering,” he says. “I might…”

Your breath catches in your throat as he trails off. “Might what?”

Another shiver wracks through your body as his frosty helmet catches on bare skin when he dips his head in embarrassment. You don’t quite catch what he says and he doesn’t bother to clarify. “Forget it.”  

You turn your head as much as you can, straining your eyes to meet the strip of visor. “Tell me.”

He mumbles under his breath again and cuddles closer, slotting his hips against your ass. “Might know…know another way to keep us warm…”

Oh. 

A spark breathes to life in the pit of your tummy. You wiggle onto your back, your nose brushing the vizor. “Does it involve me taking off my pants?” 

Din huffs, his hands, previously latched onto your hips, starting to crawl up your waist. “It could…”    

You smirk and rock your hips back, eliciting a low growl that rumbles through his chest. With your whine of approval, Din’s hand slips between your legs and gives the meat of your inner thigh a squeeze. You let your knees fall open as far as they can in this position and it’s all Din needs to cup your cunt through the thin material of your trousers. 

Crackling pleasure flood your veins as the heel of his palm grinds into your clit, and while the pressure is nice, it does nothing to satisfy. Only feeds the growing flames of desire with brittle kindling. 

You pull at his undershirt and whimper, thrilled once his deft fingers, calloused and thick unlace your pants and yank far enough down to fit his hand. His fingers trace your outer lips, a ghost of a touch as arousal swells in your stomach. He parts your folds once your wetness begins to dribble out and coats his fingertips with your arousal. 

Stars—you need him. You arch into him and whine. “Touch me. Din, please—“ 

You jerk as Din’s thumb swirls a slow circle over your clit, a rush of endorphins surging out like unrefined fire whiskey. Din’s head tilts to watch you writhe over his fingers and the sudden chill of his helmet touching the inside of your flushed neck steals away your next inhale. Goosebumps race down your entire being, adding to the influx of your excitement that pools in your lower belly.       

Your hands tangle into his undershirt, pulling him closer until you can’t find where he begins and you end. His heart pounds in his chest, thrumming to the dance of your own heart that yearns to break free from your ribcage. Your breath catches when two of his thick fingers tease at your entrance. Your walls flutter around him as the slip in easily.   

His fingers roll forward and stroke against something devastating inside of you, and he when his palm rolls back, it bumps against your clit with that divine firmness you need. Your cunt tightens around the two digits as they curl.  

“Fuck. Can you hear yourself?” He pants, groping your breast to elicit a high pitched wail. “You always make—make such pretty noises.” 

Butterflies erupt in your stomach at his words and fuck. You’re already dipping head first into release. A moment later you’re arching into his chest as every muscle stiffens in a crescendo of bliss, your stuttered breathing harsh even to your own ears.  

Your quick pants fog up his visor as Din rests the crown of his helmet on your forehead, the metal a cool relief to your flushed skin. He slips his fingers out of your dripping cunt, your chest still heaving with exertion as the last strands of your high fizzle and ebb away. Din shifts and and snakes his fingers, still shiny and wet with your arousal, beneath the lip of his helmet and sucks them clean with an appreciative groan.  

“Fuck—“ You breathe, pushing your face into his hand as he cups your cheek. Din’s thumb brushes over your cheekbone and swings his leg over your hips to hoist himself over you. 

“Do you remember...” He starts, his voice buzzing through the vocoder. His fingers tickle down your cheek and trace the parted outline of your lips. “When you let me taste you?”

You nod, and it’s all you’re able to do. You’re not even sure you can formulate words, let alone voice them right now. 

Din’s thumb pulls at your plush bottom lip, and you can’t help but slide your tongue along the digit. He grunts and slips his thumb into the wet heat of your mouth. “I think about you every night…how you came on my tongue—”

Your stomach flips as a rush of arousal sweeps through your tummy. You groan and you’re half sure you’re gonna dissipate into the floor from how hot your cheeks burn. “Din—"  

He continues without missing a beat. 

“You were so fucking wet for me—dripped all over my hand,” he murmurs, nuzzling his helmet, still chilly and frosted over, into the crook of you neck.  “I want to do it again—can I?”

You’re nodding before he even finishes his sentence. He wasn’t the only one longing for his head between your thighs on those long nights apart. Remembering those plush lips and addictive touches could only get you so far and well—he’s here now. You said it once and you’ll say it again—there’s no chance in hell you’d be passing up this opportunity. 

Din lifts his head and as you watch the light glitter in the reflection of the beskar, a sudden stray thought ricochets into the forefront of your mind. “Din, the light—your helmet.”

He pauses, his body tensing as he mulls over his options. “It’s—I—it’s ok…It’ll be ok.”

Din inhales a stuttered breath and casts a brief glance over his shoulder. It’s a dim light, kicked into the corner and laying on its side. From this angle, his face would be partially obscured in shadow…but still. There are easier ways to go about this. Ways that don’t risk jeopardizing the very foundation of who he is—what he stands for and what he so devoutly follows.    

To say you know anything about his religion is laughable. Everything you know can fit on the back of a thumbtack and even still, you’re sure that half of that is still based upon rumor and speculation. But this—what Din is hinting at, you know is not something to be taken lightly. 

He’s stripping his soul bare for you—allowing you to glimpse at that bleeding heart of his he guards so securely within layers of flesh and bone and impenetrable beskar. Din is gifting you his trust and there’s no where else to put it except for the space beneath your breast bone.   

Yet, even still—this could mean nothing at all. You have no way to know the exact magnitude of what this means to him. If he’s alright with this, who are you to question?

He mumbles one last thing about the light and sits up. Goosebumps rush up your bare skin at the loss of the heavy warmth of his body. You whine and curl up closer to his legs, greedy for any spare iota of heat like you’ve been denied it your entire life.   

Maker you hate this fucking planet—   

Your attention snaps back to Din when he makes a noise of uncertainty. His hands are cupped around his helmet—hesitant, nervous and you suspect if Din’s hands weren’t plastered so tight around the metal, he’d be shaking. You chew on your lip and prop yourself up. 

Cautiously, so as not to startle, you reach up and curl your fingers around his wrist. You can feel his pulse thrumming through his veins—alive, flesh and bone like you. Not some heap of sentient metal built for the horrors of war. You don’t know why you do it—just seems right to pull the fragile and vulnerable skin of his inner wrist to you mouth. You plant a gentle kiss there and smile when he cups your cheek.           

“You don’t owe me anything, Din,” you say, staring into the darkened depths of his visor. “Least of all this.”    

Some of that tension held in Din’s shoulders melts. He utters something in that clipped language of his people, and the only thing you can make out is your name. He lurches foreword and fuck—you’re terrified for a split second he’s gonna cave your skull in but instead he lightly bumps the crown of his helmet over your forehead.      

“I want to. For you—only you.”

Din doesn’t leave any time to unpack all of that. He sits up again, wraps his hands around the beskar— 

The metallic thunk of the helmet reverberates through the cave like a crack of thunder.    

You were right. 

You can barely see his face—if you really look, you can see the murky outline of his nose, dark hair and a sliver of his tan skin that the light touches. Attractive—but you knew that already. You touch his cheek and smile, your thumb catching over wiry facial hair and soft skin. Din makes a sound low in his throat and pushes his cheek into your hand. 

“I still want to taste you,” Din says, his voice richer when stripped of that tinny vocoder. You like listening to him speak without it, you think, and it’s a damn shame you never get to hear it. “Please.”     

Before he can escape and fulfill that fantasy, you yank him into a blinding kiss. He kisses the same—all wild edges and with desperation lining each motion—but there’s a new found tenderness here. Like he’s savoring each gasp and every brush of skin you grace him with like it’s your last night left in the galaxy.   

He breaks away from your mouth and peppers kisses and nips down your jaw, then lower as you arch and expose the bare skin of your throat. There’ll be a plethora of bruises tomorrow, and with no hope to cover them either but fuck it—Din can leave as many hickeys and teeth marks as he wants. 

If not for the cold still latching onto your very soul, you’d ditch the shirt; give Din better access instead of him needing to shove a hand up under and grope at your breasts. He gives the fabric an annoyed tug, but it’s fruitless. There’s no use when there’s better things to be sought. 

He shoves your shirt as far up as it goes, shivering as he mouths down your stomach, licks around your bellybutton and sucks a bruise onto your hipbone. Your pants are already pulled halfway down—one sharp yank and they’re around your ankles and off in the next breath. 

Cupping your knees with both hands he gingerly spreads your legs and drapes them over his muscular shoulders. Din rubs his patchy haired cheek along your thigh and hooks his hands under your ass, his ivory white teeth catching the light as he smiles.  

“Fucking perfect—“ He groans, planting his lips over your inner thigh. His tongue swipes a wet line up, stopping just before your aching cunt to dig his teeth into the sensitive flesh. You jump at the burst of pain and shoot a hand down, tangling your fingers into the soft curls atop his head.  

Din grunts and jumps to your other thigh, leaving no inch of skin neglected and without evidence of his teeth and lips. By the time his thumbs touch the outer lips of your cunt, the aching need for him is burning you from the outside in. He has to still your twitching hips with a calloused palm, and only after you settle does he surge forward. 

His tongue meets your swollen clit, ripping a tangled cry from you vocal cords. He’s just as eager as the first time he tasted you, if not more—every action backed by needy abandon. He sucks at the bundle of nerves then sweeps his tongue lower. Din’s thumbs part your lower lips as he runs his tongue though your soaked folds, the tip of his nose bumping against your clit that send delicious sparks throughout your whole body. Little noises and breathy gasps fill the cave, encouraging Din to push his tongue deep into your aching entrance. 

Your hand fists into his hair as your hips stutter and rock into the searing heat of his mouth. The noises you make are obscene, and Din is no better. Each pass of his tongue over your pussy is matched with his own deep moans that vibrated against your clit. Fucking hell he’s devouring you alive.          

Your orgasm sneaks up on you, robs you blind and crashes over you in deep waves that drag you out to sea and never to be found again as you spill onto his greedy tongue. Your fingers are threaded tight in his hair as you squeak and press harder into his mouth, riding out your pleasure until it shifts and becomes raw and sore.  

Din doesn’t pause for even a second—all too happy to stay put between your thighs for eternity. Your legs are trembling when you force his head away, a nice, tingly warmth settling into your limbs 

A dark thrill rushes down your spine when he looks up, wild hair and mouth covered in your slick. If not for the low lighting you imagine his eyes would be glazed over and Maker you want him again. Din swoops down and presses his mouth to yours, the taste of yourself heavy on his tongue that slips past the seem of your lips. 

You whine after he breaks away and sits up—an opportunity for your eyes to roam down his body. He’s still got his trousers on, a considerable bulge tenting the front. With a smirk you reach up and grab a handful, delighting in Din’s startled grunt. “Easy.”

You flash him a wry smile and give his clothed cock a playful squeeze. “Take them off.” 

Din huffs and pulls at the drawstrings. “Needy.”

He says it with no bite and no coquettish retort on your end springs to mind—especially when his thumbs hook into the waistband and pull. A slow reveal of sun-kissed skin and a sparse happy trail that your eyes eagerly drink up. 

Din’s cock bobs as his trousers fall around his knees, tip shiny and wet and curling towards his navel. You bite the inside of your cheek and reach out, a rush of arousal pulsing through your core at Din’s low moan. He’s heavy in your hand, deliciously thick and throbbing—and all of it for you. 

Din gasps out your name as you lightly squeeze and stroke down, your pace dreadfully slow and teasing. Who knows when you’ll get another chance like this—a Mandalorian willingly on their knees for you.           

Your other hand slips up his chest as you stroke him, intent on grabbing a handful of his thick hair that curls softly against the column of his neck. Your fingernail lightly scrapes across his nipple and he sways, pitching forward before he catches himself and straightens. Din’s eyes are squeezed tight, chest heaving with shallow pants as a smirk tugs at your lips. 

“It’s ok, Din,” you whisper. “I won’t break.” 

Your fingers twist into the hair at the base of his skull and guide him back. He slumps forward with a sweet moan, laying his weight onto your body that you’re all too happy too bare. His nose is nestled into the slope of your neck as his hands lock around the dip of your lower back while the other cradles the back of your head, drawing you into a loose semblance of a hug. 

Something snaps and crumbles deep in your soul that bleeds the heartstring blues, humming with broken chords in the presence of Din’s soft fragility. Your hand moves from between his legs to instead wrap around the wide expanse of his back, squeezing him tight to your chest. You hold each other like there isn’t tomorrow to look forward to and you wonder if this is how it feels to fall apart. Two spinning halves of a supernova torn apart and destined to collide and shatter into a million fragments of dazzling light.  

Yes, you’re scared he might blind you or burn you with his brilliance, but you can’t look away.      

Your fingers crawl up his muscled thigh and settle on his hip. “Lie down for me?”

There’s no hint of hesitation or complaint as he maneuvers himself onto his back, patiently allowing you to clamber over his legs and straddle his hips. His cock rests on your inner thigh, pulsing and leaving a dribble of wetness every time it twitches.    

“Good boy.” It’s subtle but it ripples out like a heavy stone thrown into a still lake. Din shudders and says your name in a cracked whisper. He rolls his hips, both of you groaning at the sensation of his cock running along your dripping center.     

Another time for that game maybe. 

Your desperation is running hot and wild to have him inside you and you know he’s in a similar boat. You grab the thick shaft of his cock and grind the tip of him through your lips, breath hitching when it extracts such a perfect moan from the man below you. 

“Ride me,” he pleads, clamping his large hands over your hips. “Fuck—I need you.” 

How can you deny such a request?

You line the wide head up with your aching center and slowly work him in. Shivers wrack through you, and Maker—he’s splitting you apart, molding your insides to the shape of him. Beads of sweat dot your hairline by the time you’re seated fully on his member, the both of you pushed even closer towards madness.  

Din squeezes your ass and props his knees up, rolling his hips up into you. You whimper and tip forward, propping your palms over his chest as he sets the pace. You may be on top but there’s no changing the bold colors of power and lust that cloud his mind, fueling the brutal movements of fucking up into you. Your thighs burn already and Maker—why the fuck are you already tired? You’re not doing any of the work.  

Quicker than lightning, Din curls forward and manhandles you onto your back. You squeak as he grips your thigh and yanks it around his narrow hips, thrusting in deeper. His right hand crawls up the front of your shirt and wraps his fingers around your throat in a loose hold. His thumb hovers over the dip at the base of your neck but he makes no move to press down—just allows the weight of his palm to do the work. And fuck—it works. 

Choked garbles of his name pass through your lips as you buck and squirm in his hold, feeling your arousal begin to drip down the back of your thighs. You’re skirting the edge of sizzling release that alights your nerves with liquid wildfire. Your nails harpoon into the meat of his shoulders as your eyes squeeze shut. Din won’t allow it.      

“Look at me,” Din snarls, yanking your head back by your hair. “I want to—to watch you cum for me.” 

A blush scalds your cheeks but you listen. Your eyes flutter open for him, sliding to the dark shadows of his eyes that sweep you into their own gravity well with no hope to escape. You don’t mind. 

“You’re so g-good for me—always so perfect.”

White hot light bursts behind your eyelids, and that’s all it takes. Your body seizes, your cunt squeezing impossibly tight around his cock as you cum. This one is different—steals your breath away and leaves you a broken husk of a person lost in most delectable forms of agony and pleasure. The cry of his name pierces the air only spurring the Mandalorian into a jarring pace to seek his own peak of ecstasy.  

Din’s nose nuzzles into your neck, his pants hot and sharp against your flushed skin. “You f-feel so—fuck. Say—say my name.”

You leap to his request and with a playful nip to his earlobe, you whisper it to him with the sweetness of starcherrries and the promise of better things. 

He tips over the edge, his hips faltering into no discernible pace as he cums. Din buries his teeth into the skin below your jaw, a mess of whines and begging gasps of nonsense as he fills your cunt to the brim. 

Your harsh breathing mingles as you both lazily slip down from your high. He rests his head over your sternum, listening to your beating heart that drums in a wild staccato as your fingers carefully comb through his hair. If not for the ache in your hips you’d keep him here forever. Din pulls out and you both groan at the loss. 

He doesn’t completely move away and you’re glad for it. He brushes his knuckles down the expanse of your cheek and dots a tender kiss to your hairline. Your name rumbles low in his throat as he shifts lower and gives your ear lobe a playful nip. His stubble scrapes along your neck, and you can’t help but giggle and squirm—but the weight of his body keeps you pinned. Your name slips from his lips a second time, breathy and drawn out in a sweet sigh, like he’s savoring the sound of each syllable and roll of the tongue. 

Din lifts his head, only slightly—near enough that his nose bumps into yours and his lips scrape along yours that are still parted and wet. “I—can I tell you something?” 

You cup his cheek and steal a kiss. It’s supposed to be quick—but instead he leans into it, guiding your mouth into a slow dance of sticky sweet movements that are caught in a slow draw, like crystalized honey abandoned in a glass jar. You’re enraptured by his touch—his skin mottled with scars yet somehow still unfairly soft. He smells of snow—like metal and soap and something gentler, that’s uniquely Din.            

Fuck—you can feel your mind slipping away, wrapped up so snugly in his presence you almost forget to answer. “Yeah—anything.”

Crackling static suddenly rips through the cave, startling you both. A distorted voice chatters on the comlink that lies forgotten beside your pants. It blinks and the transmission ends just as abruptly. With a sigh Din brushes it off and tilts his head to tempt you into another kiss but—

Whoever’s trying to patch through is persistent. 

His lip curls in a scowl and snatches the comm. “Jorhaa’ir.”

You only catch your name being mentioned twice as rapid Mando’a is exchanged. Aeris maybe judging by the tone, but no that’s not right.   

“Wait—is that Paz?”

The muscles in Din’s shoulders tense, confirming your suspicion.

“Is everything ok?” Din doesn’t resist you when you pry the comlink out of his fingers and patch in. “Paz?”

Your heart skips a beat. 

“There you are,” the comlink crackles and you smile. “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?” 

Stars—you didn’t think you’d miss hearing Paz’s voice. Your chest aches. 

The conversation is short, he asks you how you are and when you’re coming home and in the time it takes to answer, Din is peeling himself from your body. While you're distracted, he pulls on his pants and sits at the edges of your vision.

You both pretend when you say goodnight to Paz, return the comlink and crawl into his arms that nothing has festered with savage detachment. You don't remember to ask him what he was going to say and he lets you forget. The golden heart that bleeds molten ichor slips from your sight and becomes shut behind walls of beskar and bushes of thick thorns and overgrown ivy.         

He still holds you, but it’s the coldest you’ve ever been. 

Tag List: @teaofpeach @corrupt-fvcker @nelba @datmando @ben-is-a-hoe @dreams-like-clockwork @aeryns-library @auty-ren @huliabitch @anxiety-riddled-mando @phoenixhalliwell @cptnbvcks @thesoftdumbass @krissology @starlite41 @legally-a-bastard @basslinedweller @cloud-of-roses @elenamiria @goldafterglow @maybege @equalstrashflavoredtrash @wandxrlust @hdlynnslibrary @calamity-queen @sgtbookybarnes @pinkninja190 @lackofhonor @darthstyles @spacegayofficial @absurdthirst​ @blue-writes-a03​ @max--phillips​

[hellonoblesky]

Happy Saturday it’s past 2am here’s Harbinger Angst. Because I’m up late and I’m havinggg thoughts.

So here’s my hcs about the Harbingers reacting to/dealing with the news of Signora‘s death :)

(CW For like. Mental breakdowns and guilt and general emotional instability because no one is having a good time here. Oh also cussing, anddd some familial angst in Childe’s bit? Also I am so sorry about any misspellings n whatever it is. Very late and I already have two other posts in my drafts collecting dust that are also HCs so.)

Dottore:

So if you don’t follow my art blog or haven’t seen my Harbinger hcs (which are under the process of some change with new info being released and whatnot), you don’t know this but I HC Dot and Signora to be like sorta just evil siblings

Now because death is such a commodity in Dot’s uh… specific line of work, he doesn’t register that Signora is dead until like two days after he hears the news

He picked up the phone (rotary perhaps?) to go call up Signora‘a office to see if she has any good gossip and then stopped halfway through dialing because it hit him that she’s never going to be there to pick up the phone on the other end. Ever.

He usually listens to music when he’s working but with the absence of Signora ranting he has to take up listening to the radio on top of the music

Problem is: the radio doesn’t have the same charm and cadence to it that Signora’s rants did, because normal people are boring and it’s going to drive Dot up the walls if he has to listen to one more commercial or one more anxious ramble about how cool and great the Fatui are from some stupid radio host trying not to overstep the Tasritsa’s favor like she listens to some boring ass radio station in her spare time!!!

HE HATES IT. But is forced to make do because if he shows weakness he will be torn apart (or so he thinks)

So this leads to him locking himself away in his office even more than he already did

Because he was already intrigued by the traveller after their actions in Mond and their victory against Childe, but them beating Signora in a duel before the Shogun? Oh now that kickstarted a whole new line of study

Especially because his only coping mechanisms are Be Destructive and Dive So Far Into Work You Don’t Think so within about three days he has a comprehensive analysis of everything he can possibly get his hands on regarding the Traveler (without interacting with other people) and is about to pass out because he hasn’t slept

Oh and the funeral was absolute hell for him.

Mainly because while he was barely conscious he agreed to play violin at the service and then promptly passed out and forgot about it so he woke up and was hit with the consequences of his own actions in the form of sheet notes

He endured, obviously, he’s not going to back down from playing something at the funeral of one of the few interesting people in the organization, that’s what tools and cowards do and this might be the Fatui but if he’d survived the wrath of dead gods he would make it through this

Went right back to locking himself away after that though

He actually got bad enough that the other Harbingers took notice of his state and MADE him come out of his labs and eat (mainly at demand of the Tsaritsa because she just lost the Crimson Witch as an asset, she wants the rest of her Harbingers in good health god dammit, the Traveler is becoming a genuine threat)

Broke down at dinner a week after the funeral

Swears that if any of the other Harbingers bring it up ever ever again he will kill their bodies and keep their consciousnesses trapped in a machine that he controls forevermore

Really he’s just glad that no one immediately pounced on one of his few shows of weakness

Maybe he’ll risk it again if it means he can cry it out for another hour but he wouldn’t dare say that out loud, won’t even finish the thought

But you know what he will do?

What he does best, of course

Look at an oddity in the world (in this case the traveller) and seek to pick it apart until he can put it back together without looking and still have it work

The only way he can actually get through his grieving is by finding something to take the edge off

And it just so happens that the traveller is a perfect candidate

Childe:

By no means has he ever liked Signora, in regards to personality or method, but her death still hit him

He had to travel back to Snezhnaya for the funeral, and it did absolutely cheer him up to see his family again and get to spoil them all silly, but with a mind whirling with thoughts it was genuinely hard for him to keep a smile up

Mainly thoughts about battle, because that’s really the only way he can interpret the world at this point

Like he keeps thinking about weather the Traveler was holding back with him, or if they had gained the strength to fight off yet another Fatui plot just in the month or so since Liyue? And if they had gained strength, how had they done it so fast? If they’d been holding back against him had he not shown himself to be a fighter worthy of their strength? Had Signora even faced the Traveler‘s full strength?

Overall his head is much too full of too many things, and it wears him out to the point that he ends up sleeping in late enough for his family to actually worry because usually he’s up before dawn training and they don’t see him until the afternoon

But he’s back on track as soon as he can, because the training helps him think, and once he can resolve most of his thoughts (or repress them so they don’t bother him too often) he’s absolutely alright and fine and ready to go! Totally. Fine. It’s fine.

The thoughts were very much There during the funeral, especially as the first harbinger read a (somewhat summarized version) of Signora’s life to the assembly of Fatui

(Oh and Pierro didn’t really care weather or not Signor wanted people to know her life after she died because she was dead now what was she going to do??)

The reveal that Signora had been fighting for the Fatui because her lover had been killed by the actions of the Anemo Archon, and she desired nothing more than to see him again… it got to Childe. It got to Childe more than he’d like to admit

Because suddenly the woman who he had always known as the embodiment of frostbite and frozen barbed wire fencing had someone she had cared about, genuinely cared about, to the point where she had become the Mondstadt legend, the Crimson Witch herself

And she had lost that lover to the actions of a fool of a God

He swore silently to himself that when the Tsaritsa‘s future came to pass he would make a little monument for Signora. Nothing big, probably a plaque on a nice stone where Mondstadt would have been before the Tsaritsa’s success, but a monument nonetheless

This promise was a spur of the moment thing, and later he would be like “Man she was a jerk, lost love or not why did I promise her that?“ but he doesn’t go back on promises

Besides, actually watching Dottore break down in a grief and sleep-depravation induced haze was also something that got to him because of course the two people he happened to simply Hate The Most in the organization were close that makes perfect sense but also wow it is weird to see Dottore cry and it feels Wrong because after murdering and tormenting so many people… Signora is gone and he breaks then??? What the fuck

Avoids most of the Harbingers after that, just heads home to Morepesok to spoil his siblings silly before going back to Liyue

Oh and his siblings can tell something is up, Teucer especially because when his brilliant big brother, the greatest toy salesman in all of Snezhnaya, is suddenly struggling to keep a smile even though they’re at home… he notices

Childe’s other siblings are all avoiding the subject, they heard about the death of Signora and all, they just assume the organization is going through it tight now and frankly most of them are a little afraid of him weather they‘ll admit it or not

Not Teucer though, he’s confused just because he still has grasped how Snezhnaya works yet, so he goes ahead and asks anyway

Childe just says he’s sad because he has to leave again so soon! And he hasn’t even been able to take Teucer fishing this time, isn’t that sad?

Teucer can tell that he’s lying

But Teucer is also beginning to sense the danger that lies behind Childe’s eyes, so for the first time? He doesn’t push it or say that they could go fishing now if they hurry

Just a grin and a “Next time!! Promise?” Makes it all better and he doesn’t have to think about why his big brother feels unnerving to look at sometimes

Childe is oblivious to Teucer’s growing awareness

He heads back to Liyue and makes himself focus on work

Scaramouch:

Now he didn’t particularly like Signora either, and didn’t really care about her life’s story, because blah blah blah we get it lady you lost someone, we all did, cry about it or whatever

But he does feel… he feels guilty for leaving her to face the Shogun

He had the Gnosis, he had finished Signora’s mission for her without even meaning to, and he had thought it would be funny to just let her face the Shogun without knowing that

To some extent, it’s his fault she’s dead

And it’s not the fact that she died because he didn’t go get her that weighs on him, it’s that he left her to the Shogun of all things

I don’t know if puppets like Scara can feel things like people and such do, but considering how the Shogun expressed frustration and stress when Ei disabled the majority of her functions, I’m going to assume they can

And because of the meddling of ‘some eccentric scientists’ his emotions are probably toned down a tad but he can still feel guilt all the same

And leaving Signora to the Shogun makes him feel guilty because he and the Shogun are essentially kin

Disowned and disavowed kin, but you know

He may have been able to easily counter the Shogun, or even help Signora prevail in her duel, but he. Ran. Off.

He happens to think that that was very cowardly of him

It causes a spike in his aggression which everyone unfortunately has to notice every time he walks by because the sheer static electricity that snaps in the air when he’s in the room now? Haha. Ouchie

Fun fact: he has no idea how to cope with guilt

He channels ALL of it into SHEER RAGE

Ever seen a couple hundred year old man go absolutely apeshit in the Harbinger‘s shared training arena? Well now you have!! It’s not a pretty sight!!

He’s crying and can’t tell why, which fuels his anger, which fuels stress as a fun side effect which just makes more tears and now he has to snap someone in half because he needs it to stop he hates it here he hates it here he hates it here

And in the beginning the guilt wasn’t even that severe for him, it was just so immensely magnified by his lack of coping skills that he very nearly broke himself down

He tried going to Dottore to get it disabled but Dottore had his doors all locked so Scara couldn’t even get a word through to him

Oh and the funeral was fine with him he just left early because he didn’t want to deal with looking people in the eye at the time because, again, his lack of coping skills with guilt magnified the whole feeling so it was almost unbearable

It’s a lot of fighting and breaking things before he’s able to resign himself to some semblance of how he was

[musecharm-writes]

Curiosity Killed the Cat Burglar (Tony Stark X Reader)

ANONYMOUS: You write for marvel? Awesome! Ive always wondered ehat would happen if someone tried to reverse engineer one of Tony's suits just for curiosity instead of evil or money... could you write something where Tony finds reader doing something like that? Thanks!!

Summary: You’ve been training yourself for months for this mission (not even counting the time you’d spent learning all the skills you would need in order to even make it a possibility), and now you’re finally here, so close to what you’ve been waiting for for so long…it almost feels too easy.

You’ve been training yourself for months for this mission (not even counting the time you’d spent learning all the skills you would need in order to even make it a possibility), and now you’re finally here, so close to what you’ve been waiting for for so long… it almost feels too easy.

You’d spent weeks perfecting the software that let you into the Stark Industries mainframe so you could access the blueprints of the ventilation system. You’d taken great lengths to memorise the layout; you could recreate the map flawlessly if called upon to do so. You’d made a backup plan for absolutely anything and everything that could possibly go wrong.

And now that it’s working, it just doesn’t feel right.

As you slip into the elevator, pressing the button that will take you to the floor housing Stark’s workshop with a gloved hand, you have the distinct sensation of being watched. You send an uneasy glance around the elevator and are unable to detect any cameras, but you’re well aware that means nothing; there could be thermal scanners, pressure pads, or even something as simple as hidden cameras in the walls or ceiling. Stark is as sneaky as he is clever, and you’re the last one to underestimate him.

He is your hero, after all.

--

The elevator doesn’t make a sound as it reaches the workshop floor, nor as the doors open with a smooth glide, and it’s equal parts unnerving and impressive. You don’t waste time studying the elevator, though; you leave the elevator car, creeping down the hall until you come to a wall of glass.

All that’s between you and your goal now are a keypad and a shatterproof glass door.

You pull the hacking device you custom built and programmed from your belt and attach it to the keypad. Numbers scroll across the screen until, finally, the security code is displayed in blinking green.

You grin in satisfaction and press the appropriate numbers. The door opens.

You’re in.

You stalk into the darkened shop, padding across the floor without making a sound. You reach up and pull down a pair of homebrew infrared goggles.

Let’s see. If I was a super-genius, where would I keep a high-tech, flying suit of armour?

You see some display cases on the other end of the room -- you’re unsurprised to see that Stark preserves his old suits, considering how attached he seems to be to them -- and are preparing to search for the mechanism that will open the cases, but it’s not necessary; there’s a half-assembled suit laid out on one of the work benches, as though its owner left in the middle of performing repairs on it.

Jackpot! You hadn’t dared hope you would get this lucky; the newest model of the Iron Man suit, just laying there in the open, completely unguarded? This is better than anything you could’ve dreamed of!

You approach the workbench, stepping over and around other half-complete projects that Stark has left scattered around. There are what you assume to be deactivated automated assistants, too, arm-like structures with claw shaped grasping appendages on the ends.

Under different circumstances, you would love to stick around and see what this place looks like when it’s up and running at full capacity. You bet it’s amazing.

You shake those thoughts from your head. Focus on the task at hand, you remind yourself. Your window is incredibly small.

You carefully open the faceplate of the helmet and search for a data upload terminal. Once you’ve found it, you pull your scanner from your belt and attach it to the terminal, activating it. Your heart flutters giddily. You’re so close.

And then, a voice says, “Right, I think I’ve let this go a little too far. JARVIS, lights.”

The lights slowly start to come up. You hastily remove your goggles and turn to find none other than Tony Stark standing at the far end of the room.

He smiles and waves shortly. “Hi. I’d introduce myself, but,” he swirls his finger in a circle, “seeing as we’re here, I’m pretty sure it’s not necessary.”

You’re completely dumbfounded. You have no idea what to do, what to say -- how do you explain yourself?

You came up with a plan for every scenario, except for the one where you got caught.

“Uh,” you begin, “I… I don’t… I mean, I’m not-- It’s not--”

“You, on the other hand, have some serious explaining to do. You could start with who you are, for example, and why you’re in my house, and how in the hell you managed to build a bunch of shit that neutralised my security measures.” He points an accusatory finger at you. “You hacked me. Nobody does that, nobody has ever done that. How did you do that?”

You open and close your mouth, at a total loss for words. “W-Well, um, I… I just did?” It’s a terrible explanation and you know it. You kind of want to dissolve into the floor; this was not how this was supposed to go, not at all.

Stark looks incredulous. “You… just did. Huh. Okay. Well, I just thought I’d let you know I went along with this little charade because, if we’re being honest, I found the concept of someone smart enough to hack Stark Industries enticing. I figured I’d just wait and see where you were going with it. But, since you were just after the suit -- totally boring motivation, by the way, that’s been done like a thousand times by now, what is it, money or power? -- I’m gonna have to see you out now.” He pulls out a wafer-thin, see through card and taps on it. “Jay, let Happy know we have an interloper on sublevel--”

“Wait!” You cry out. “Wait, please don’t kick me out!”

He looks at you, quirking a brow. “And why should I not?”

You fidget awkwardly, feeling a little stupid in your thief getup. “I… I didn’t want the suit to sell it, or weaponise it, or whatever. I just wanted to see if I could… If I could make one better,” you admit, your face reddening.

Stark is silent for a moment, which you aren’t sure is a good thing. Then, he says, “Huh. Okay,” and the way he says ‘okay’ turns it into a four-syllable word. “So, you broke into my house, disabled all my security, and entered my private workshop without permission… because you were curious?”

You nod, a little embarrassed. “Yeah.”

“Curiosity killed the cat, you know,” he says, with a hint of a smile. “Not so sure about the cat burglar.”

“But satisfaction brought it back,” you retort.

“And you’re feeling satisfied with yourself, are you?”

You shrug, starting to relax as you settle into the rhythm of the banter. “I could be. Depends whether or not you’re planning to call the cops on me.”

The hint of smile turns into an outright grin. “And ruin this thing we’ve got goin’ on? Now, why in the world would I do that?”

You laugh. “...Does this mean I get to look at the suit after all?”

Stark makes a show of considering your request. “We can work up to it,” he says. “After you show me what you’re really capable of.”

--

You spend what must be hours down in the workshop -- Tony Stark’s workshop! -- shyly explaining how your devices work, and then you move upstairs to the living room and spread out schematics across the table, trying valiantly not to explode on the spot when the guy you’ve had a crush on since you were, like, ten tells you your craftsmanship and code are just about as good as anything he’s ever seen, which is really saying something.

You’re so focused on trying to seem like you don’t care that much about his approval that when he says, “So, hey, how about next week, we meet up somewhere for a little intellectual conversation over coffee?” you nearly miss it. (‘Nearly’ being the operative word, of course.)

“I… What?”

“Unless you don’t like coffee. We could do lunch,” he continues, and somehow, he almost seems as nervous as you were just a moment ago.

The idea of Tony Stark being nervous to ask you for coffee or lunch -- you, of all people -- is laughable, so much so that it sends all your nerves running for the hills.

“Yeah,” you say. “No, I mean, coffee’s fine. I love coffee.”

He nods. “Good. Good, I’ll see you then. Hopefully this time you won’t break into my house beforehand.”

You fluster immediately at that, stammering, and he waves it off.

“Kidding,” he says. “I let you get in, remember? You’re fun, you’re a good,” he waves his hand as if trying to summon the words from nowhere. “Conversationalist. You grok me.”

You nod.

He slaps his knees and clears his throat. “Welp,” he says, standing up, “it’s been fun, but as everyone in my life loves to remind me, I have a company to run, so as much as I would love to spend the rest of the day talking about fun stuff, I sorta can’t. Walk you to the door?”

“Sure.”

He sees you out, reminding you not to forget about your “little rendezvous next week, I’ll pick you up and take you someplace swanky, my treat.”

You don’t feel nervous about it at all. You just met your idol, and all you had to do was break into his house and try to steal the plans for his top-secret superhero suit.

You can’t wait to find out what he wants to talk about next week.

[thefinalyeehaw]

(Obey Me Fic) Deathly Hearts {Ch. 2 - The Great Mammon and the Third-born Brother}

The House of Lamentation was more refined from the usual image of an academy's dorm house. The entrance hall was a grand room; vaulted ceilings emphasized its vastness. The walls were luxuriously decorated with oil paintings and golden light fixtures. Two stone statues of dragons sat hunched over at the curve of the dual staircases as if to attack any unwelcome guest. The floor shined with a fresh layer of wax on the wood surface, a long, intricate runner stretched across the length of the shiny floor ending in another room beyond the grand hall. The rug looked to be recently laundered, definitely by the command of Lucifer.

"This is the House of Lamentation. It's one of the dorms here at R.A.D. Well, it's not JUST one of the dorms. It's the dorm reserved for student council members." Mammon's voice echoed as he strolled into the center of the hall. He gestured lazily around like a bored tour guide.

His fluffy white hair contrasted the dark colors of the entrance hall. Killian noticed a trend with the demonic brothers; all were extremely attractive. Mammon was a handsome demon with a slender yet athletic physique, his tan skin reminiscent of warm chocolate. His golden-blue eyes reminded her of gold and sapphire; a few necklaces she owned came to mind.

Before meeting Mammon, Mattie and Killian were introduced to three other brothers. First, there was Asmodeus, the fifth-born brother, beautiful with wavy champagne hair. The demon's orange eyes held a yellow gradient, reminiscent of a human world sunset. The fifth-born spoke with saccharine words and coquettish mannerism. However, the reaper wasn't blind to the way his gaze slid down her physique before shooting her an impish smile. Killian scoffed in response, quickly neutralizing her face when Diavolo looked at her quizzically. She knew Diavolo would ask her later about it. Fucking Great.

Next, the fourth-born Satan, devilishly handsome as Lucifer. Golden blond locks, reminding Killian of a particular bothersome angel, and smoldering green eyes, blurring into yellow, heavily contrasted the hall's gothic style. Killian grew unnerved as Satan spoke, sensing the unbridled rage concealed by the poise of a gentleman's demeanor. Unlike Asmodeus's seduction failures on Killian and Mattie, Satan's wrath was concerned, to say the less, for many reasons. Many included the safety of her and the human as she doubted the Avatar of Wrath was exceptionally patient with others. Since he greeted the reaper with the warmth of an iceberg.

Last was Beelzebub, the sixth-born brother. Standing the tallest of the other demons, except for Diavolo. A disinterested frown etched on the towering man's handsome face, violet eyes stared blankly at Mattie and Killian. Clear hints of muscles barely hidden underneath his rumpled uniform as Beelzebub shifted slightly. He spoke bluntly to them before complaining about his hunger to Lucifer, prompting a glare from the firstborn.

Although Killian would admit rooming with attractive demons for a year is a plus, to an extent. Honestly, she might have flirted a bit with Mammon or Satan if one wasn't so full of himself and the other being a ticking bomb of rage. The arrogance practically bleeds from Mammon's attitude from the moment he barged into the assembly hall, spewing useless threats and shooting glares at her and Mattie. But, of course, he is a totally insufferable bastard. Even better than Lucifer appointed him as the unofficial babysitter of her and Mattie as luck loved to fuck Killian over sometimes.

Mattie strolled further into the room, eyes twinkling at a stone dragon statue. They hovered a hand over the stone, fingers mimicking the curved designs on the dragon's chest. "So, I guess we are members of the student council, then." They awed. Killian smiled at the child-like curiosity on the human's face. "It seems like it. Although, oddly, mostly all of the council are brothers."

Mammon's face soured at the reaper's words, the second-born began to rant, "Lucifer, Asmo, and the others take every chance they can get to insult me. Callin' me scum, sayin' that I'm a money-grubber and stuff...but I'm an officer on the student council, same as them. The elite of the elite, the top of the R.A.D. social pyramid." Mattie and Killian exchanged looks as they watched as Mammon grew more riled, thriving the captive attention of two new members.

Mammon's gesticulation grew more dramatic as he became more impassioned with the speech of his sheer greatness, "In other words, I'm a big shot. A REAL big shot. Like, even regular big shots are impressed by what a big shot I am. So don't you go thinking that I'm just some ordinary demon. I'm nothing like those other peons walking the halls here!"

Killian grinned, "I doubt any of those 'peons' would dare to compare themselves to the great Mammon." Mattie hid a laugh behind their hand as Mammon puffed out his chest proudly. Apparently missing the sarcasm oozing from Killian's words as she studied a painting of an unsmiling couple dressed in Victorian attire.

"Exactly!" Mammon exclaimed, believing Killian's words as the human let out a snort behind him. The second-born cleared his throat "...Anyways, the long and short of it is that us seven brothers all live here together." He quickly summarized, his golden-blue eyes never leaving the emotionless porcelain mask as Killian turned around. "It's time I show you to your rooms. Follow me, and ya betta not get lost!" Swiftly pivoting on his feet, Mammon ascended up the left staircase. His stomps clicked against the marble steps.

Mattie hurriedly followed the demon up the stairs as Killian lagged behind; a bulletin board pinned to the wall against the second landing caught her attention. Although she was a princess, Killian enjoyed working. As a young reapling, Killian helped her nanny with simple tasks such as cooking and cleaning. As an adult, she performed countless jobs in the human realm, accumulating vast life experiences and skills. Maybe she'll ask Diavolo about part-time jobs in the Devildom when their first meeting is scheduled.

Unlike Mattie's tasks as a R.A.D. student, Killian's tasks included monthly meetings with Diavolo, a check-in on her progress in the Devildom. The prince's eyes shone as he cheerfully commented on how he looked forward to their sessions. It seemed he was suggesting the meetings were like a hang-out between old friends and not a conversation between a student and the headmaster of R.A.D. Not wanting to curb the prince's enthusiasm, Killian expressed how she also looked forward to it as Lucifer stared her down like a hawk.

"Hey, don't just stand there with your jaw open. Hurry up, or I'm gonna leave ya behind." Killian's eyes moved towards Mammon standing at the top of the staircase, arms crossed impatiently. "If there's something you wanna ask me, you'd best do it now," Killian snorted at the demon's growl.

Mammon acts like a snarling dog, but he becomes a meek puppy whenever someone bares their teeth at him. On the phone, the demon behaved imperious, dismissing any time she or Mattie brought up what Lucifer had told them as if he was an important king wasting precious time on peasants. After Mammon's audacity to shout through the phone, Killian's patience wore thin. She quickly figured out the Avatar of Greed had a cowardly side. He yelped when the reaper subtly threatened to rip his tongue from his body if he ever interrupted her again.

The slip of cowardice vanished quickly as Mammon regained his crass persona. Although she unintentionally wounded his ego, the drop gave insight into how Killian could handle Mammon if his overconfidence got out of hand again. "Nothing in particular. I just got lost in my head a bit, sorry," Killian flashed an apologetic smile, quickening her climb up the stairs.

Mammon eyed her, determining whether to question the reaper further. "Hmph...fine then." He grunted, not caring enough to pry. "Now, I'm gonna give you a piece of advice, so listen up. If you wanna survive even a day here in the Devildom, you'd better listen REAL close to what I'm about to say." Mammon stopped to turn towards the two exchange students.

Golden-blue eyes observed them, shifting between the two curious students. He leaned close if he was about to reveal a big secret. "If it ever looks like a demon is about to attack you…" Mammon's voice dropped low. Killian ignored the shiver down her spine at the huskiness.

"...run away. Either that or die," Mammon stated, drawing back to gauge the reactions. Mattie blinked, their eyebrows furrowed in sheer confusion, their mind progressing Mammon's advice.

"Huh?" They muttered under their breath as Killian raised an eyebrow.

"How about this? I vote for YOU to die, Mammon." A venomous voice hissed. The three turned as another demon stormed down the hallway towards them, orange-blue eyes glared daggers into the second-born.

"D'ah…! Levi…" Mammon paled, eyes widened in surprise like a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar. The second-born stiffly gestured to the fuming demon, failing to school his features. "Uh, l-listen up, human! This here is Leviathan, the Avatar of Envy. He's the oldest of us brothers." His voice slightly trembled.

Mammon coughed as a fake smile appeared on his face. "Since his name's sorta hard to say, you can just call him Levi!" He began to usher Mattie and Killian further down the corridor, trying to flee the anger of the third-born.

Levi's glare intensified. "Mammon, give me back my money. Then go crawl in a hole and die." He demanded, stomping closer to the white-haired demon. Unsurprisingly, Levi was just as attractive as his brothers, with fair skin that lacked any blemishes or scars. His indigo hair was styled nicely with sweeping bangs, framing his orange-purple eyes that glowered at Mammon.

Mammon winced under his brother's angry stare, "Come on, I told you I'd get it to you! I just need a little more time. … And you still want me to die even after I give it back? That's real harsh, Levi!" Need more time? Sounds like famous last words. Killian wasn't too surprised the Avatar of Greed was indebted to others.

The frown on Levi's face deepened, "You need a little more time? How much more?"

"A little more, okay?! A little more means a little more!" The second-born tried to reason, but to no avail.

"You've been telling me that for the last 200 years, Mammon." Levi shot back. Mattie made a choking sound while Killian let out a low whistle; that is a long time to wait for the money.

"Hey, no! It hasn't been 200 years! It's been 260! Get it right, Levi!" A pause of silence stretched as the three stared at Mammon in disbelief.

Killian let out a baffled sound, "Why would you correct him on that?" She couldn't believe Mammon actually corrected how many years he owned Levi's money. She must have offended Diavolo in the past, and now he was punishing her by making this idiot her guardian as revenge. Killian made a note to be more cordial to the prince during her stay. Maybe she and Mattie could upgrade to a more competent guide as a result.

Levi sighed at his brother's dumb remark, obviously used to Mammon's lack of filter. "Unbelievable. Seriously Mammon, you're-"

"I'm what? Scum? Is that what you're gonna say?" An unreadable emotion flashed in Mammon's eyes, frowning at Levi.

"-you're a lowlife and a waste of space." Levi continued to spew insults.

Mammon let an offended gasp, "Hey! Come on, that's even worse!"

"Whatever." Levi rolled his eyes, crossing his arms impatiently. "Just give me back my money. I need it to buy the Blu-ray box set of Journey to the Devildom: The Tale of a Little She-Devil and Her Reluctant Companion." His angry face slightly brightened at the mention of the show, "The initial round of copies includes promotional tickets to a live event as a special bonus."

Mammon huffed, growing frustrated with the conversation. "I've got no idea what you're even talking about, but it doesn't matter! Because I don't even have any money to give you. How am I supposed to give back money I don't have, huh?!"

"So then. You're telling me you refuse to pay me back?" The air in the room grew thicker as the tension built.

"...What? You looking for a fight, is that it?" The smirk on Mammon's face fueled the boiling tension as the air pulsed with solid auras. The situation was becoming increasingly dangerous. Demon fights were notoriously nasty to witness. Killian feared Mattie and her were about to get stuck in the crossfire of one.

"Mattie," Killian spoke low, catching the human's attention as they watched the brothers' bickering. "Stay behind me no matter what happens." She felt almost bad as Mattie flinched at her words. Their eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. With the potential of the bickering becoming a brawl, Killian knows she can easily defend herself if someone happens. Still, Mattie doesn't have the power to protect themself from something as brutal as a demon fight. Mattie said nothing as they quickly followed Killian's order, stepping behind the tall woman, partially hidden behind her slender frame.

Killian raised her right hand slightly, her thumb stroking the obsidian ring on her ring finger. She felt the familiar tingle of energy warming her arm as it swiftly spread through her body, ready to activate her scythe at a moment's notice.

As if sensing the mounting stress of the room, Mammon turned his attention to the two exchange students. Killian remained rigid, her arm raised to her chest with feet firmly planted to the carpeted floor. The porcelain mask was void of all expressions. Two piercing blue eyes glowed in the shadows of the eye slits, trained on the scene as if waiting for an opening to defend. Mattie stood semi-hidden behind the alert reaper, watching the scene, fear etched on their face as their frame slightly trembled.

"Listen, you two. You remember my advice from before about what to do when demons attack? Well. You're about to witness that for real. So…" Mammon inched backward, walking a bit further in the hallway. Killian's eyes widened at Mammon's flighty action, wasn't he about to—.

"Hold on. I thought your advice was to either run away or—damnit, Mammon! That ass...he ran off…!" Levi screeched furiously as Mammon sprinted down the empty corridor, vanishing past a sharp turn.

Mattie stumbled out from behind Killian, taking in a shaky breath as their eyes stared down the hallway where Mammon had once been. "What just happened?" Shock trembled in their voice, gawking at the fact the second-born had just ditched Killian and them at the first sign of trouble.

Killian heavily sighed as she relaxed her stand, rolling the tension out of her neck and shoulders. It wasn't indeed a surprise Mammon escaped at the first mention of conflict. She figured that the second-born brother was a coward. Rarely do cowards actually fight, usually fleeing as Mammon had done. "Do you realize what just happened? Mammon used you as a distraction to get away from me!" The third-born retorted as Levi glanced over to Killian and Mattie, irritated by his older brother's escape. "Or maybe I should say he used both of you as sacrifices."

"I think it is a little bit of both," Killian commented. However, she didn't appreciate the slight blame behind Levi's words as if they were naïve toddlers swindled for their candy.

Levi ignored the two as he rambled, "I'll admit that Mammon is one of the scummiest scumbags you'll ever meet...a total lowlife. But still, that was pretty dumb of both of you letting him use you like that."

"Excuse me?" Killian placed her hands on her hips, angrily gritting her teeth.

Levi was too ensnared to notice the increasing amount of magic slipping from the frustrated reaper as he chose to continue his rant. "This is EXACTLY why reapers and humans are—Wait a second. Humans....yes, that's it...Suddenly, I've got an idea." Levi turned towards Mattie; his face grew a focused expression as he studied the human.

"You know what? Never mind." Mattie yelped in surprise as Levi's hand reached out and grasped their wrist, tugging them deeper into the house's unknown bowels. "Either way, you're coming with me."

Levi let out a squawk, jumping as a warm hand gripped his wrist. "No. We're coming with you." Killian stated, smirking at the glare Levi shot in her direction. "We're both exchange students, guests in your house. It is rude to ignore a guest, right?" Slipping on a polite smile as she not-so-gently tugged Mattie from the third-born's grip.

Where the human goes, I go, remained unsaid, but the warning was apparent in the reaper's tone. Killian wasn't dumb enough to let Levi drag Mattie away, to allow a demon to carry a human away in unknown territory. If Mammon was any instance, it showed that the brothers weren't as reliable as Killian initially thought. It was already apparent the disinterest of some brothers towards both Mattie and Killian. She already wanted to punch Lucifer, and she hadn't even known him for a day!

"Well, yes...but no! I don't want to bring a bunch of normies to my room!"

She ignored whatever the fuck a 'normie' was supposed to as she shot back, "Then, tell us right there and right now. If it is revenge on Mammon, you can tell us. I doubt he will be for a long while." The straightening of Levi's back revealed his idea did involve revenge. Taken back, Levi muttered about 'stupid normies' as he tried to make a decision, fidgeting.

Mattie shot a concerned look to the reaper, who gently patted their shoulder in reassurance. Killian predicted it was up to her and Mattie to properly survive this year. Telling Diavolo would only make matters worse and just piss Lucifer off more if he had the demon prince breathing down his breath. Not to mention how complaining to Diavolo would only hurt her reputation further. She couldn't afford that, especially this early in the program.

Fuck, she wanted a cigarette.

Killian felt a buzzing in her pocket. She reached into her jean pocket to retrieve the vibrating D.D.D. There were four unread messages from Mammon.

Mammon: Heya, I suddenly remembered I have some business I gotta take of. So, if ya need something, just ask Levi.

Bullshit.

Killian scoffed at the winking demon emoji Mammon had sent. It was a blatant attempt to placate her after his vanishing act.

Mammon: Oh, and just to make sure... Don't go around tellin' stuff to Lucifer, ya got that?

He sent a glaring demon emoji, which Killian promptly sent back to Mammon. But, of course, she wasn't planning to tell Lucifer to begin with. She might be a royal, but Mammon being a cowardly bastard wasn't worth the energy for a conversation.

She smirked as Mammon quickly sent a nervously grimacing emoji back. Oh, she had an excellent idea as she tapped the keyboard.

Killian: Okay, I won't tell Lucifer.

Killian: But Mammon, the next time you put on that stunt, you won't have the chance to run.

Killian slipped the phone back into her pocket, ignoring the buzzing on her thigh. Glancing back up at Levi, she grinned. "So, what is your good idea?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I finally had the time and energy to edit this!!!

I hope you enjoy this chapter, please reblog and heart it if you want (constructive criticism is also appreciated!)

Stay in-tuned for the next chapter: How to train your Avatar of Greed (with blackmail).

Thank you!

[walmart-cryptid]

Amnesty Cast Featuring: Poker Night

So this started out as a friend and I talking about Duck’s apartment and how its DEFINITELY not sad until I asked the question.. Do you think Duck plays online poker?

As a result we then developed serval headcannons. Proceed with caution.

Duck GAMBLES

he started playing online poker when he’d wake up late at night from a vision or nightmare etc and it sorta became a habit from there.. and when he’s behind a screen he thinks nobody can tell he’s lying. ( which is false. they can. even the computer AI can)

So Duck gambles, but by nature he cannot gamble

He is so very bad at it. He needs help. Someone help this man. Is he in debt? I can only see him squinting at a computer screen in the dark as he’s lost another hand, I do not know.

Duck is so very very bad at poker and Aubrey? Aubrey is great at it.

In cannon she’s a good enough liar, and I imagine her acting like she hasn’t ever played before, treating it casually, and chatting up everyone else at the table before laying down a full house. I like the idea of her beating Ned in particular. Who barley had her registered as a threat. And I like that visual even more because

They Both CHEAT

But they can’t catch each other doing it.

Ned is convinced Aubrey is using Magic ( she’s not) and Ned’s bluffs are all reverse psychology princess bride bullshit so Aubrey is physically incapable of telling when he’s telling the truth. Especially because Ned is physically incapable of sounding like he’s telling the truth.

Eventually they all start a poker night at the lodge. Duck is invited, and they throw rounds at random to let him win a couple of hands once in awhile because he’s just so bad at it ( so much worse they then imagined. Didn’t he say he liked the occasional game of poker??) and they don’t want to take advantage. ( Duck is oblivious to this) There is also a ongoing bet on who will get caught cheating first, Ned or Aubrey. Fifty on Ned and Twenty five on Aubrey. ( twenty bucks out of the twenty five curtesy of Ned)

I’m gonna do the last couple ideas I have rapid fire.

Mama

Still kinda confused about the rules despite them explaining them a million times. Not half bad though. A good liar. I imagine she gets a bit competitive and will 100% be the first to storm off from the table because she has “better things to do” or she has to go check on one of the sylphs. Everyone sees through this obvious excuse, but to call her out on it is a death wish so they just keep playing.

Barcaly

Folds easy, and treads on the side of caution, but wins a few hands. Makes very obvious faces when drawing a bad hand. A lot more focused on making sure everyone has snacks and is half distracted most of the time. The person always getting up from the table? You know the fool.

Stern

Normally can’t make it to poker night.. Has a entire notebook of everyone’s tells and can slide into such a stone cold poker face on cue everyone is low key unnerved. Pretty competitive and does not go easy on anyone at all including Barclay. Turns the scary emotionless fbi mask off again the second the night is over though to smile and thank everyone for a good time as he collects his winnings and wonders while they’re all giving him weird looks. Has been banned from joining them on more then one occasion, but Barclay normally convinces everyone to let him come back after a bit.

( and this isn’t a nobody likes Stern post it’s a Stern is very good and Ned is sick of losing and then feeling bad about feeling bad about loosing because Stern seems to be happy and completly oblivious as he wipes the floor them)

Dani

Has only shown up once or twice. Has no clue how the game works. I figured most of the sylphs would watch or steer clear because they aren’t familiar with the game mechanics. Mostly there to laugh at Aubrey who will shamelessly show off when Dani is part of the audience. Sits right by Aubrey and ends up flashing her cards on accident once per round whichAubrye does her best to ignore. Asks for tips which Aubrey gives no hesitation so they end up whispering tactics and giggling as Ned insists that counts as a form of cheating. If she wins anything she turns around and gives it back to Mama or Aubrey which again, Ned insists is cheating, but no one is on his side in this.

Indrid

Is not allowed to play. He insists he can’t look at everyone’s cards, that’s not how his powers work, but there are no expections.

Billy

Also not allowed to play. Ate a card once

This is all I have for now, but yeah. Amnesty Poker night.

[broken-clover]

AU-gust Day 6- Hospital

I’m here early! Mostly because I had a lot of this written earlier, so if that didn’t make it obvious enough I really liked this prompt. While it’s a hospital prompt is isn’t especially intense or gory, after yesterday I tried to make this one pretty lighthearted. Honestly I feel like the only really uncomfortable part of this is how much effort I put in trying to make a Pokemon expy. Hehe.

Sorry-not-sorry for more Sin and Bedman, it’s a bit more ‘romantic’ then last time but still pretty much platonic friendship. Enjoy!

Though it felt weird to say, Sin knew his least favorite thing about his father was his charity. Helping out people in need was a good thing, obviously, but a ridiculous amount of his childhood memories involved being dragged along to food banks, hospitals, and shelters so his dad could give corny, well-wishing speeches and lend a hand to those less fortunate, forcing him to help out alongside the other volunteers. Sin had used to wonder if it was because something about having a cute little kid around raised everyone’s morale, or whatever.

Well, considering he was now a grown-ass teenager at the age of sixteen, and Ky was still dragging him along, maybe he’d been off the mark.

At least he’d been allowed to take a break after an hour of schlepping donation boxes up to the children’s wing. Of all the places his dad went to for charity work, hospitals were by far his least favorite. The colorless, sterile atmosphere was just unnerving to be around. As soon as he could, he made a dash for the nearest sign pointing him toward the courtyard.

Sin swiped his guest ID through the maglock, which released with a cheery beep. The white walls and stench of antiseptic gave way to an array of soft colors and the smell of flowers. He took a deep whiff of the aroma and sighed with relief. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his handheld, fully charged for when he got a break and could take a minute to loaf off and relax.

Which game had he left in it this time? He popped out the cartridge and smiled. That was right. Pocket Beasts: Light version. His current favorite. He just needed a comfy place to hunker down and play.

A few stone benches were placed in between bushes and flowerbeds, all unoccupied. The place looked really empty, but it made sense. Everyone who wasn’t already busy was probably at Ky’s speech. At least it meant he’d be able to get some peace and quiet and privacy.

He spotted a pretty lavender flower poking out of the bushes and approached. The ‘flower’ moved, making him realize he’d seen wrong. Sin groaned inwardly at the sight of another person, perched on the short stone wall surrounding the flowerbeds. They didn’t glance up, if they’d even noticed him at all, appearing too absorbed in their own handheld device to care about much else.

“H-hey.” He raised a hand at them, and offered a twitchy half-smile. There were so many ways he knew this could go wrong. Sometimes people screamed at him until he fled, or immediately launched into the most boring small-talk possible. Sin just wanted to play his game, he really had no interest in causing any trouble. “Can I sit down?”

Sin braced himself for a response, but he didn’t get one. “Hey?” He tried again, waving harder. Maybe they were deaf? “Is it ok if I sit out here?”

Eyes glanced up at him, but only for a half-second before they returned to the screen. Well, it wasn’t a ‘no,’ so the best he could assume was they just didn’t care.

Hesitantly, he found a place to sit. If the hospital gown and IV hadn’t already given it away, it was pretty clear that he was a patient, not a visitor. He was scrawny and spindly to the point where it was almost disturbing, his skin was pale and sickly, and the messy bedhead was only slightly offset by the awkward purple hair dye. Why was he out here in the first place, instead of at Ky’s speech?

He knew staring was rude, but he just couldn’t stop himself. Every time he tried, there was another odd little detail that caught his attention. A peculiar little hairclip in the shape of a pink arrow. A purple charm bracelet half-hidden by his standard-issue hospital band. Glittery star stickers on the sides of his handheld, and- hey, he recognized that game!

His expression brightened. “Oh, you play Pocket Beasts too? That’s my favorite! Who’s your starter?”

The only response he got was a couple of button clicks. Sin found himself sinking back into an uncomfortable silence. Well, he supposed it was better than being yelled at. He switched his game on.

Dad said he wasn’t supposed to use the internet at the hospital because it would mess with all the fancy machines, so online matches were out of the question. Well, there was always the battle tower. Maybe he could item grind to kill time. He still needed to finish his Soup Encyclopedia and some of the rare cooking items could only be found there.

Any discomfort he had was wiped away with the familiar music and intro screen of the game. How could he worry when there were battles to be won? All he had to worry about was making the most of his free time.

His avatar flickered into existence, still in the last town he’d visited. As soon as he moved towards the nearest building, though, a little indicator popped up on the bottom of the screen. Puzzled, Sin took his stylus and tapped on the icon.

Trainer BEDMAN would like to battle!

>Accept Decline

‘Bedman?’ He looked up at the little avatar that had appeared, then glanced off to the boy at his side. The messy lavender dye-job was surprisingly close, as was the magenta arrow pinning his bangs out of his eyes. Was it just some weird coincidence? If he wanted to play, he could have just asked…

Despite his confusion, Sin clicked ‘Accept.’ PvP battles were more fun than doing the same grind he had done over and over again. Even if he did lose, it was in a totally unique way.

The usual introductory animations played out as their avatars posed and tossed their first beasts into battle. Sin had to snicker at the disparity between their choices. He always liked sending his biggest and toughest beasts out in the beginning, and pretty much anything looked tiny beside it.

But smaller meant faster, so he wasn’t all that surprised to see the other one attack first. He braced himself for a tough starting move...only to be confused at the sight of a sand cloud being thrown at him.

Enemy Used SAND TOSS!

Accuracy Lowered!

Sand toss? What a waste of a turn! Sin grinned as it switched to his turn. Karate chop, a pretty powerful start, it always hit, and he had the type advantage, what a great way to start a match- !

Attack Missed!

“What!? How did that miss!?”

“Karate chop has a standard accuracy of 100%.” A low, quiet voice spoke up next to him, making Sin practically jump back in shock. “But I lowered your accuracy with sand toss, so now there’s a 15% chance it won’t hit.”

“...Huh.” He looked back at his screen. “Never see people use sand toss out of, like, NPC fights.”

“Most players treat accuracy-modifiers as a waste of time, but if you have a Pocket Beast with a high enough defense, then the turns spent not attacking are made up for when the opponent can barely hit you later.” The strange boy had such a casual tone to his voice, as though they’d been conversing for hours already.

It was a bit jarring, but Sin tried to roll with it. “I guess that does make sense. Sorta like when a beast has the ‘Decoy’ ability and the first attack never hits?”

“Kind of. But a lot of players know which beasts can have Decoy, so they know ahead of time to focus on stat-altering moves or poisoning instead of wasting a turn when they know attacking won’t do anything. Take your turn.”

It took him a moment to process the last bit, but he noticed the battle menu had popped up again. He picked another attack. “Why’d you want to battle me? Did you just pick at random?”

“You were the only opponent available.” Another sand toss. “It’s hard to find people to play with on local, and I’m not allowed to use global matchmaking in my room because it needs an internet connection.”

Sin waited for his two-turn charge move to activate, but before it could be his turn, a swift attack managed to knock his beast out cold. “Damn it! I thought I had that…”

He spotted a triumphant little smirk out of the corner of his eye. “Pocket Beasts is all about tactics. You have to take everything into account. It’s easy to just care about how much damage a move can do, but you’re doomed from the start if you don’t have the right stats, or the best moveset to compliment them.”

He couldn’t help but grin along with him. “Wow, you’re really good at strategy!

‘Bedman’ managed a small, awkward smile. “Well, um, not like I have much else to do…”

“Really?” Sin tilted his head. “I guess it’s good you’ve got something fun to do while you’re here, all this hospital stuff skeeves me out. When do they let you go back home? I dunno how long you’ve been here, but I think I’d go nuts after a couple of days.”

“I’m not sure. I’ve been here a while, already.” A lucky hit from Sin’s beast managed to knock his first one out. “Since...last January, if I remember correctly.”

Last January? Jeez, forget a few days, he was sure he’d be past insanity after a whole year!

Sin donned a look of pity. “That sucks. What’s wrong with you?” The words came out before he could think or realize that it wasn’t an especially nice thing to say. “Uh, shit, sorry-”

“Mmm. It’s okay. At least you don’t mince your words. I have a neurological disorder that affects how my brain processes information. It’s a bit hard to describe. Let’s say a human brain is like a computer, it processes the inputs that are fed into it. Powerful, modern computers can process a lot of information all at once, but if a computer is old, or wasn’t built properly, trying to process too much information can make it overheat and crash.”

“Oh. So how do you keep it from ‘overheating?’”

“Sleep, mostly. I’m only awake for a few hours every day. When I’m awake, and I don’t have tests to do, I like to play games. My sister and I play multiplayer sometimes, but usually I have to play by myself. She has the same problem I do, so a lot of the time one of us is asleep during the times the other’s awake.”

Was it weird to get all this personal information from someone he’d just met? Sin wasn’t sure. But he did like talking to this guy. “Well, want to swap Friend Codes? If we’re registered as friends then local multiplayer should work, then you don’t have to use an internet connection!”

“Where do you live?”

“Central Illyria!” Sin beamed. “Like, half an hour at most. It should still work from there.”

The other boy gave him an odd look. “I’m sure there’s plenty of hospitals closer to you, then. Why did you come out all the way here?”

That got him to roll his eyes, making an exaggerated gagging noise. “My dad. He always drags me along on his charity stuff, carrying boxes and shit. He only let me take a break because he’s making some dumb speech up in the-”

And the regret came just as fast as he saw his companion’s expression shift. He hated the visits, obviously, but he knew it was important to a lot of people. And if someone had been stuck in a hospital for that long, maybe they’d be happy to have someone new come by. He must have come off as such a dick-

Before he could stew on it more, he heard a little laugh. “Yeah. I hate those, too.” Bedman was smiling at him. “You’re Kiske’s kid? That’s got to be awful.”

“Heh. Yeah, it really is.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Never gave you my name, did I? I’m Samson, but everyone just calls me ‘Sin.’”

“I was curious about your name, that does make a bit more logical sense.” His companion nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Sin.”

“Same! What about you? Can’t imagine your name’s really ‘Bedman,’ is it?”

“More of a screen name, really. My name is-”

“Mattie! Dr. Baldy says you’ve gotta have your IV changed!”

They both jumped at the sudden noise, accompanied by the slam of a door. A girl with shaggy blonde hair and familiar features limped into the courtyard, setting her sights on them as soon as she was visible.

“There you are! I just knew you’d be out here.”

“Well, there’s not many other places I could be…” He said. “When did you wake up?”

“‘bout half an hour ago.” She replied. “Just in time for mom and dad to send me out to look for you.”

The girl’s expression changed when she noticed Sin. “Oh! Mattie, who’s this?”

“Sin, this is my twin sister, Delilah.” ‘Mattie’ pointed to her. “Delilah, this is my...new friend.”

“New friend?” Delilah reached out and shook Sin’s hard with a remarkable amount of strength. “Did my baby bro talk your ear off about his favorite game again?”

“You’re only older by nine minutes, Delilah!”

“He’s really good at Pocket Beasts.” Replied Sin. “It was fun playing with him!”

At that, he realized neither of them had selected anything in a while. He looked down at his screen

TIME UP

DRAW

“Aww, maaaaan…”

“Do we have enough time for another match?” Mattie asked.

“Dr. Baldy looked really serious. We probably can’t make him wait that long.” Delilah shook her head.

Sin tried to bring the mood back up. “Well, we were still gonna swap Friend Codes, right? Then we can play whenever! Either of you have something to write with?”

Delilah pulled a thick black sharpie from her sock. “I have a marker! But no paper…”

“Oh! Hold on a sec.” Sin rolled his jacket sleeve up and held out his arm. Just write it on the back!”

The two of them looked hesitant. “Is that safe?”

“It’s totally fine! It’s a little hard to wash off, but that means it won’t smear before I get home!”

Mattie took the marker and began scribbling on his forearm. “You’re really quite strange, Sin.”

“Thanks!” As soon as the wet feeling on his arm went away, he twisted around to see two series of digits.“What’s this other number?”

“Our phone number. If, um, you ever feel like calling.” Despite his attempts to hide it, Sin could see the faint blush to the other boy’s cheeks. “Do you think you could do one more thing very quickly?”

He couldn’t think of what it could have possibly been. “Yeah?”

“Can you draw something on me? I’ve never done it before. I want to see what it’s like.”

He grinned. “Hell yeah! I’ll try and draw something cool real quick!”

Delilah winced. “You know mom and dad are going to kill you, right?”

“Just say it was my idea!” Sin beamed. Mattie flinched the first time he pressed the marker to his skin, but he managed to still draw a straight line. He couldn’t think of anything in particular to draw, so he settled for a series of sharp, criss-crossing black lines circling his forearm. “How’s that?”

“...woah.” Simple as it was, Mattie looked utterly awestruck. “It’s…

“C’mon, Mattie, we’ve gotta go!” Tired of waiting, Delilah all but dragged him off the wall.

“See ya!” Sin waved as they departed. “You’d better bring your A-game next time we battle, I don’t lose easy!” He folded up his game and tucked it into his back pocket. That was probably his cue to leave, too.

As he hopped off the wall, he could make out a faint voice trailing away to the other side of the courtyard.

“Huh? What’s the deal with you, Mattie? You never look that happy!”

Sin smiled as he turned to leave. Ky was probably waiting for him.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been excited for the next visit.

[weaselsmuses-aa]

Typhoon Island Villager HCS [final]

Emma

Age: 21

Island occupation: Island Representative. Though she’s called a shady representative by many.

Sexuality: Bi.

Friends: All of her villagers of course! (though she does have her favorites, namely Punchy, Antonio and Bamikins.)

Very hard working. Is almost always running form one side of the island with new ideas for how to improve things

When she isn’t terraforming, pathing or planting, she’s hanging out with Punchy and her friends.

A gracious host, according to her. She wants all guests to check in with her first and foremost. Gets a little grumpy when someone doesn’t follow that rule.

Terrorizing Isabelle is her hobby, gets her through the day.

Loves rain, storms and fog the most.

Favorite season is winter. (Totally not because she can make the whole month of december about her.)

Has been bickering with Isabelle so long she’s accidentally befriended her. (easier to torment her that way)

Rumored to be good friends/has close ties with Redd. (How else did he get here?)

House has an incredibly ominous vibe. Something about it just isn’t quite right.

Is a great asset when you’re friends with her, when you aren’t though....

Almost always with Antonio and Bam (Three musketeers vibe) or Punchy.,

Doesn’t get along with Julian too well. Almost always yelling at him/swearing at him under her breath. 

Misses sloppy furniture damnit.

“ I don’t know about the missing people or the blood, stop asking about it.”

Bellionare.

Punchy

Age: 23

Island occupation: Professional Slacker. (sometimes he’ll help Emma garden and clean the beach though)

Sexuality: Bi at best.

Friends: Bob [bff], Kid Cat, Beau, Antonio, Weasel, Stitches. && ofc Emma.

The FavoriteTM.

Representative’s Pet.

Probably dating Emma

Absolute precious sweetheart

Naive, lazy, but can be sarcastic and snarky when you know him well enough.

Huge heart.

Snacks on snacks on snacks on snacks

Can be a cry baby at times.

Very affectionate with his friends

Usually seen in his yard, by the playground or in Emma’s orchard.

Favorite color is blue, Favorite activity is sunbathing and naps

You look in his home and you’ll be able to tell how much of a favorite he is.

Has nothing but good things to say about Emma. (Seriously shes all he talks about.)

Kind of scared of Bam. He doesn’t get along with him well, for ...obvious reasons.

Popular but didn’t ask to be. He’s just sweet and easy to love!

Really loves cherries. A lot. Seriously. Fastest way to the little kittys heart.

Also pretty good friends with Monsun key’s Lapis, asks about her sometimes.

Bam

Age: 20

Island Occupation: Has a part time job at the museum dusting and helping out with the fossils. 

Sexuality: Pretty het.

Friends: Emma, Ky, Swiss, Antonio, Kid Cat, Beau, Cheri, Getting to know Lucky.

Big brother vibes with a pretty bad temper if you know how to strike a nerve.

Best friends with the Island Rep and Antonio

Seems to be the island’s favorite target for teasing.

Gets along well with everyone …….except Punchy and Bob.

Avidly and openly does not like Punchy, its most likely due to jealousy. It’s also rumored the reason his his very blatant crush on Emma

Only person he likes less than Punchy is Bob as he is quote ‘an asshole’. (Its usually just Bob returning the favor though for Bam being a dick to Punchy).

Usually seen working out on the Beach, doing Yoga in the square, or taking walks. Really loves the Light house, the orchards and the Playground.

Known to be a little overbearing with his attitude problems when he doesn’t like someone. (He’s been seen walking around punchy’s house,and has hit him on a few occasions)

Is either your friend and super nice, or doesn’t like you and can be a dick.

Hangs out with Cheri and Beau a lot when his two right hand pals aren’t available.

Secretly wishes Brewster would come open a shop.

Beau

Age: 22

Sexuality: Pan.

Island occupation: Got a part time gardening position from Lief. Also helps the nooklings arrange their shop displays.

Friends: Topaz, Emma, Ky, Punchy, Bam, Stitches, Lucky, Julian

Sleepy eyed sweetheart.

Very Peaceful and kind, doesn’t like to see anyone fighting and wants everyone to get along.

Definitely the type to always say yes.

Rustic mountain town vibe. Really likes nature and long hikes.

Favorite season is winter.

Best friend’s are Topaz, Punchy, and Bam.

Talks to Blathers and Celeste a lot, very interested in natural history and astronomy.

Goal is to be good friends with everyone on the island. The only one he’s having trouble with is Antonio. He can’t quite figure him out yet.

Likes to have Tea with the island rep on Sundays.

Always wanted to be like the reindeer he’s seen on TV. He admires the lifestyle and aesthetic despite being an antelope.

Has a baby blanket he’s very attached to.

Loves kids, and babysits Kid cat and stitches often, he thinks they’re very sweet.

Plants trees, flowers and shrubs a lot. He really wants to make the island feel more woodsy.

Favorite spot is the museum, orchards and star gazing spot.

Julian

Age: 28

Sexuality: Gay Trans Icon.

Island occupation: He worked at the able sisters for a little while but they had to let him go because he went overboard and tried to control everything. He’s thinking about applying at brewsters. 

Friends: Kyanite! Topaz, Beau, Cheri, Punchy & Bob (sorta)

Narcissitic, Dramatic and self obsessed.

Only thing he loves more than himself, is a good book and singing.

Really loves to look good, and is constantly indecisive about what he wears.

Has an aesthetic and will NOT let you mess with it. Seriously, don’t give him furniture, he’ll give it away.

BFF is Ky.

He also gets along with Beau and Cheri. He can appreciate Beau’s simple pleasures in life, and his kindness. Cheri and him relate on pop culture and music.

Gossips constantly, cannot keep a secret to save his life, and only wants to know your business to talk about it.

Very loving friend once your’e close to him, and will likely only break his ‘peaceful’ face, for a friend. Pissing him off is hard to decipher most of the time, as he finds it beneath him to show ‘savage’ emotions.

Claims to be magic, but no one knows if he actually is, or he just uses his species to say that.

Usually seen in the square seeking attention, following others to eavesdrop, or at home either inside, or in his yard reading or writing.

Doesn’t seem to get along with Spinel too well. He tried to be friends with her but when it didn’t work out he just decided to mess with her for fun.

Dreads double visits from Ky and her girlfriend. As they mess with his lights until they break. Blames Spinel for encouraging it.

Very curious about Lucky and Stitches but kind of creeped out by them. He snoops on them when given the chances to do so though.

Loves the stargazing spot and Ky’s picnic area. He does enjoy a good stroll on the beach too when he isn’t shopping for stuff.

Cannot be without attention for too long, he will shove himself into your conversations, your day, and the town square and tell you gossip or start singing.

Wishes there were more people on the island that he could relate to.

Cheri

Age: 22

Sexuality: She like gurls

Island occupation: Has a part time job doing island clean up for Tom on the weekends. Thinking about asking the nooks to get her a part time job at the shop.

Friends: Pearl (Monsun key), Marina (Monsun key), Emma, Lapis (monsun key),  Weasel , Bam, Bob, Julian, Punchy (they bonded over music recently), Lucky (slowly but surely shes giving her lots of gifts and being in general sweet and cheri cant okay.)

Zero bullshit tolerance.

Sarcastic, snarky and loud, but a very loyal friend

Rap, Rock and Metal are her life

House so red you will forget what other colors are.

Rumored that she’s got an album, no one on the island knows if what she says is true.

Good friends with Bam, Bob and Julian.

Usually in the square Jamming or  Hanging out on the Beach.

Pretty good friends with the Island Representative, isn’t really into all the  gossip about her.

Thinks Kid Cat is cute, but also isn’t big on watching kids, so you know.

Good friends with Weasel, likes to talk to them every once and a while.

Literally don’t start an argument with her, you WILL lose.

‘ im a bad bitch, you cant kill me’

What the hell is stitches? What the fuck happened to lucky? IS anyone going to actually acknowledge how fucked up this is?? hello???

All concerns aside, she thinks both stitches and lucky are very sweet but seriously wtf.

Rapping in the square with her friends is the shit for her okay. She loves it. Has asked Emma to throw a rapping party to which she replied ‘eh.’

Leather jackets and cool clothes are just as important as looking cute as hell!

Talks about Raymond moving like it was the best thing to happen to mankind, and his existence on typhoon island like a bad dream. (she still holdin a grudge)

Antonio

Age: He....wont tell. well guess 25

Sexuality: Doesn’t talk about it.

Island occupation: Typhoon Island ditch digger.......he digs the graves. At least thats his supposed job. He’s seen some shit. Surely.

Friends: Emma, Bam, Swiss, Bob, Stitches, Lucky, Ky

One does not simply get rid of him

Is he all there or is he not?

Vacant stare

Either ramblings of insanity or way too meddling

Everyone calls him crazy but….he knows all the dirty laundry.

Usually in the square….listening..and watching

Favorite Song is K.K. Dirge

Digs the graves for the grave yard and probably puts up the missing signs.

Always seems to pop up out of nowhere. At the most..unnerving moments.

One of the least social, yet most involved somehow.

What are you hiding antonio?

Bob

Age: 24

Sexuality: Bi.

Island occupation: Doesn’t have one. Works booorring. Give him some games and food any day.

Friends: Punchy (BFF), Emma, Lapis (Monsun Key), Weasel, Kid cat, Stitches, Lucky, Beau is okay

Absolute Meme-er

BFF is Punchy

Constant jokes, no matter his mood. Is he serious? Is he not? good luck figuring that out.

The popular kid on the island, but he doesn’t really care.

Also good pals with Swiss.

Give him a dare and he will do it. Every time

Older than the island rep and talks about it alot like its a personality trait.

Play fights you.

Sarcasm for days.

Affectionately bullies you softly

Annoys Antonio for laughs

Pisses Bam off on purpose (they dont get along)

Favorite spot is the playground , the pool and the beach.

Thinks stitches and lucky are super friggin cool. So what if they’re a little weird? That’s what makes them so awesome.

Affectionately messes with cheri when shes’ trying to sing or rap in the square.

Kind of avoids julian because he doesn’t like how he talks down to him

Got kicked out of nooks cranny a couple times. Who even knows why.

Kid cat

Age: 12

Friends: Stitches, Emma, Weasel, Ky, Punchy, Bob, Bam, Antonio, Lucky, Beau, Cheri. (So like everyone.)

Is, as his name would suggest, A kid.

Absolute trash heap of a house. Like He actually lives like this?

The island rep felt bad for him and built him a nice bed. He’s very attached to it.

Best friend’s are Bam, Kody and Weasel.

Sees Bam as a big brother.

Wants everyone on the island to be friends.

Considers himself a super hero, always wants to be the one to save the day and help people with their problems.

Hangs out on the playground, claims the jungle gym as his ‘base’.

If he isn’t there he hangs out in the square trying to spread his ‘heroisms’

Wide eyed optimist

NARUTO RUNNING AROUND YOU.

Is probably going to stay up past his bed time. Whos going to stop him

Claims the ninja turtles live under his house.

Misses Raymond. Says the island is ‘missing its dad’

Stitches

Age: Ageless, but comes off as a 6-10 year old

Island occupation: Doing whatever Emma tells him. 

Friends: Emma, Punchy, Topaz, Kid Cat, Weasel, Beau, Lucky, Bob

A mash up of many different bears and animals before him. All of whom met an untimely end by the hands of the creature.

Is not aware of how he came to be, and it is in Emma’s best interest to keep it that way. She will make sure you don’t tell him.

Can’t see very well, and can’t speak. Instead is telepathic, and can speak in sign language if need be. You will be able to hear his voice, but his mouth will never move.

Doesn’t come out of his house too terribly often, and is not allowed out after dark.

Favorite activity is playing pretend! He loves his toys and his blocks, and sometimes will go over to kid cats or weasels to play pretend with them.

Refers to the island representative as a mother, which .....disturbs and disconcerns most.

really close with lucky. They relate on a lot of....similar misfortunes. They can also speak to each other privately through mystical means without interruption or eavesdropping from others.

Is as name would suggest, stitched up. Sometimes the seams come undone and his stuffing comes out. (Yes hes actually full of ...just stuffing.) stuffin’!

Seems to be alive by sheer paranormal means. There is nothing in him keeping him ticking biologically.

Wants to be friends with isabelle, but notices he frightens her, so he avoids town hall.

Favorite spots are his room, the picnic by kys house, and the playground. (He wants to learn the monkeybars!)

Really looks up to Punchy, and wants him to help teach him the ways of the world....though punchy may NOT be the best rolemodel.

Afraid of Bam and Antonio, but is put under their care often.

Lucky

Age: ......we aren’t sure. Shes been dead a while. The only one who might know is emma.

Island occupation: Haunting the island after dark. (She’d help out if anyone would hire her.)

Friends: Stitches, Emma, Bob, Beau, Swiss

Is as ‘luck’ would have it, dead. She’s a spirit.

Rumored first victim of the typhoon island serial killer. She’s been dead a while, as her house would show, she’s not had the privilege of living for quite some time now.

Her bandages are a permanent feature, and theres a rumor floating around that without it, there wouldn’t be much left to her---besides those piercing haunting eyes of course.

Has a very sweet, soft spoken voice. Almost as quiet as a distant whisper. 

Very good friends with Emma. Follows her around almost....an unnatural amount. Almost as if...she’s got some sort of attachment to her.

Has a grave in her back yard, which was not naturally there prior. Seems to have dug it herself. A comfort thing perhaps since to present knowledge she was never given proper burial.

A very kind dog, and very helpful if you give her the chance and look past her....otherworldly appearance.

Loves stitches like a baby brother, almost always hanging out with him more than anyone else, will protect him feircly.

Self conscious about her state of being dead, just wants to make friends and live a happy afterlife since hers was taken from her.

Loves gardening, though all her flowers turn into black roses....or die.

Favorite spot is the graveyard, the forest, and Emma’s orchards.

Thinks her and Isabelle would get along good! If....Isabelle didn’t run away from her.

Really loves K.K. Slider concerts. Always wants to be the first to attend them. Can he see her though? She’s not sure sometimes.

[psychosistr]

Talk to Me- Chapter 3

Summary: They’ve reached the restaurant and everything’s going great so far!...So why is Steelbeak so nervous about messing everything up? Maybe Domino can help him loosen up a little.

Notes: This scene was so much fun to write- I love writing date stories far too much x3

-First Chapter-

As far as Steelbeak was concerned, the ride to the restaurant had been a complete success. Flirting with Domino had been easy, natural, and fun- and that stroke of luck with the song on the radio had resulted in a surprisingly romantic moment that he honestly couldn’t have topped even if he’d planned it himself. They’d been seated quickly without having to wait, and had even gotten a great table by one of the windows with a stunning view of the moonlit bay in a corner of the restaurant with no one else around. All things considered, it was a great start to the night.

Which, unfortunately only made him more anxious about doing something to mess it all up.

He kept trying to tell himself that things were different this time- that things between him and Domino were better now- but, in the back of his mind, he kept thinking about how all of his attempts at conversation last time they went out to eat had ultimately messed everything up and left him with nothing but a bill to pay and quiet, lonely car ride home. It was a stupid thing to worry about, and he knew it, but he was so completely out of his element that it left him feeling more than a little unnerved.

It wasn’t the going out part he wasn’t used to, mind you. He’d gone out on plenty of “dates” before and those had gone well enough to earn him several “girlfriends” that were so charmed by him that they’d wait literally MONTHS just for a chance to see him again.

No, it was the idea of going out on an actual date with someone he was actually interested in seeing again that had his nerves frazzled.

Every other date he’d been on before had been the same routine: Dinner and drinks. Some sweet talk that he didn’t really mean. Drive back to his place. Have a little fun. And then he’d send them on their way with the usual “Don’t call me, I’ll call you”. Lather, rinse, repeat- the same thing every time.

With Domino, though, things were different. The other man was too sharp to fall for his usual sweet talk (though flirting was definitely still on the table). Steelbeak also wanted more than just a one night fling- he wanted to go out with him again in the very near future, or maybe even just hang out more outside of work. He wanted-

“-something wrong?” The loon’s voice cut through his thoughts instantly.

“Huh?” Steelbeak blinked and looked up from his half-touched plate of seafood paella, unaware that he’d spaced out. “Sorry, ya say somethin’?”

“……” There was that stare he’d become all too familiar with over the past few months- the look that told him the shorter bird was mentally picking him apart and analyzing him with unsettling accuracy. “Something’s on your mind and it’s stressing you out.” And he’d hit the nail right on the head, as always. “What is it?”

Darn, he really couldn’t hide anything from this guy, could he?

With a frustrated sigh, Steelbeak frowned and ran a hand over his comb. “Is it really that obvious?” A nod from his partner accompanied by his deadpan stare told him that, yes, it WAS that obvious. “You’re gonna think it’s stupid..”

“Probably.” Wow, he didn’t miss a beat with that, did he? “But I still want to hear it.”

Well, he thought, might as well spit it out. Otherwise the darker bird would just keep giving him that look until he did. “Can ya ‘least promise NOT t’ laugh?”

The edges of the other’s beak curled slightly in a smirk as he shrugged. “Maybe.” That was probably the best he was going to get.

Figuring that he wouldn’t be able to get it all out if he was looking into those seemingly all-seeing red eyes, Steelbeak chose instead to keep his gaze on the bay. “…..I..ain’t exactly used t’ datin’ like this.” His eyes followed the rolling motion of a wave as it crashed on the beach before receding. “Don’t get me wrong, I like goin’ out with a cute dame much as the next guy, but I don’t even bother rememberin’ their names half the time. We go out, I tell ‘em what they wanna hear, and it works good enough t’ get ‘em home with me.” He blindly waved his hand in Domino’s general direction. “But, with YOU, I don’t even know how t’ start a freakin’ conversation. If I try talkin’ to ya like the rest, it’d probably be charmin’, but it’s not gonna be real- my brain ain’t exactly wired for honesty, y’know? So I’m tryin’ real hard t’ think of somethin’ t’ talk about ‘sides small talk ‘cause I wanna say somethin’, but I don’t wanna look like an idiot for tryin’ too hard.” He gave a short, self-deprecating laugh and shook his head. “Aaaaaannd I just heard myself out loud: I’m tryin’ too hard t’ NOT try too hard..guess that don’t make a whole lotta sense, huh?”

When he finally turned his attention back to his date, he saw that the other bird had reached across the table with an extremely small, unmarked vial of something and currently had his hand angled over the rooster’s glass of water- clearly preparing to drip whatever was inside of the glass vial into his drink. “……” Realizing he’d been spotted, Domino slowly leaned back into his seat properly and set his hands back down in his lap, maintaining eye contact the whole time as if that would hide what he’d been about to do.

“…Dom..what’s that?” Steelbeak asked his partner incredulously.

“…Nothing…” He was clearly lying through his teeth and trying to maintain his poker face, despite being caught red-handed.

“We both know I ain’t buyin’ that.” Steelbeak looked down at the table obscuring the loon’s hands from his view. “I know you ain’t tryin’ t’ slip me a mickey, so spill it.”

“Fine..” The poker face finally fell away and Domino’s hand came back up to rest on the table with the vial still between his fingers, surprising the rooster with the dejected, guilty frown on his face. “It’s a truth serum.”

Steelbeak’s eyes widened in surprise at the admission. “Why the heck do ya have truth serum on ya??”

The darker bird shrugged a little. “I like to be prepared for anything- it comes in handy for emergency interrogations.” He set the vial on the table between them so that Steelbeak could see it better. “I thought that, if you’re uncomfortable because it’s hard for you to speak honestly with me, then a drop or two might help.”

The tiny glass container sat on the table, looking so small and insignificant, but Steelbeak knew better than to assume things when it came to drugs and chemicals in their line of work. “..That stuff really works..?”

“I’ve found it to be effective more than 98% of the time.” Domino replied. “It’s fast acting, too- most people notice the effects almost instantly.”

“……Eh, what the heck?” Steelbeak grabbed the vial and, instead of putting a few drops into his glass as Domino had been about to, he popped the drip-cap off and brought it directly to his beak to chug half of the colorless liquid in one go. “!!” He immediately regretted his decision- the liquid was oily and tasted like someone had boiled down a bottle of mouthwash into a loose syrup. After grabbing his napkin and coughing into it for a solid minute, as well as chugging his entire glass of water to weaken the nearly medicinal taste still coating his tongue, he set the half-empty vial back down in the middle of the table. “Ugh, this stuff better be worth it..”

Domino picked the vial up and put it away after screwing the cap back on. “You know, two drops would have been more than enough. Don’t blame me if you start spilling F.O.W.L.’s most highly guarded secrets.”

“Figured I’d need all the help I could get.” With the horribly minty taste finally cleared from his pallet, Steelbeak took a moment to think about how he felt. “Y’know..I do feel calmer. Wow, you weren’t kiddin’ ‘bout that stuff- it works REAL fast.”

The darker bird smiled a bit, but there was something sly about that look in his eyes that Steelbeak couldn’t quite place. “Let’s test it out: What would you like to talk about?”

“I wanna know more about YOU.” The words fell from Steelbeak’s mouth with surprising ease. “We don’t talk ‘bout much on the clock, so, I wanna know, what sorta stuff do ya do for fun?”

“Hm, that’s pretty tame, but a good place to start, I suppose.” Domino picked up his fork, idly spinning it between his thumb and index finger as he thought the question over. “Well..I read, mostly. I also enjoy going to the shooting range- it’s a fun way to exercise and keep my skills sharp. During the winter I like to go for walks in the snow or even ice skating, if it’s cold enough. Oh, and sometimes I just like to go driving along the coast at night since it’s so quiet.”

“Sounds like a good time.” Steelbeak smiled a little, a general feeling of satisfaction coming over him. He couldn’t believe how easy that had been! He felt more relaxed now, like he had when they talked in the break room the other day, or after their mission to raid and blow up a S.H.U.S.H. base. “Never woulda pegged ya for a skater, though. Found any good places ‘round here for that?”

“The lake in the park was nice, I went there last time it snowed.” The loon had a soft smile on his face as he glanced out the window, clearly remembering the day fondly. “It was in the middle of the night, so there was no one else crowding the ice or crashing into me.”

Ah, there it was- that rare but genuine and gentle smile that made Steelbeak’s heart melt a little. “Maybe I’ll tag along next time. Haven’t gone skatin’ in ages.”

Red eyes looked back up at him, that smile growing a little more. “I’d like that.”

For a moment, they stayed like that, just smiling contently at one another.

Then, Steelbeak noticed, Domino’s shoulders began to shake the way they did when he was trying not to laugh out loud about something. “What’s so funny?”

“Well, it’s just..” Domino’s smile was turning into a grin as he continued resisting the ever-growing urge to laugh. “You know that truth serum you drank?”

“Yeah, what’s in that junk, anyway?” Steelbeak asked, his curiosity piqued now. “I mean, I’m glad it worked, but it tasted like melted toothpaste.”

Domino’s body was practically trembling, as was his voice, but he managed to get out a simple reply. “It’s peppermint oil.”

“…What?” Steelbeak blinked, unsure if he’d heard the other bird properly.

“You just drank a bottle of peppermint oil.” And the last of the loon’s resolve crumbled, allowing him to openly laugh at the baffled rooster.

“What?!” Steelbeak sputtered for a moment. He’d seriously just chugged freaking PEPPERMINT OIL?! After a few seconds of his partner laughing at him, the rooster finally groaned and let his head fall forward to hit a clear spot on the table. “Can’t believe I fell for that…why the heck would ya even HAVE that..?” Somehow it seemed more believable that the other bird would carry truth serum on him then peppermint oil.

Wiping a few laughter-induced tears from the corners of his eyes, Domino’s smile didn’t go down one bit. “Like I said, I like to be prepared for anything. Peppermint is very versatile- it can relieve nausea, help with indigestion, or just be used to freshen breath after a less than fragrant meal. I’ve also used it as a fire accelerant before.” He took notice of the way the lighter bird's shoulders were starting to tremble and his grin lessened slightly. “Hey, are you ok-?”

Before he could finish his question, Steelbeak sat up with a huge grin of his own spread across his face and started belting out his distinctively nasal laugh. “Friggin’ peppermint oil! Oh, that was good!” He had to wipe away tears of his own so he could look his partner in the eyes again. “This is why I like ya, Deedee: You keep me guessin’. I never know what t’ expect with ya. You’re exciting.”

Domino’s own smile returned. “You’re certainly not having any trouble being honest now, are you?”

Steelbeak shrugged, the huge grin still practically splitting his face. “Yeah, but it’s gonna be easier on my ego if I just keep pretendin’ it’s ‘cause of a truth serum. So, let’s keep talkin’ before I lose my nerve again- sound good?” He raised his almost empty glass towards his partner expectantly.

Domino picked up his own half-full glass and tapped it to the other’s. “That sounds good to me. Let’s talk.”

<-Previous Chapter Next Chapter->

End Notes: Just to clear up any possible confusion: Domino WAS trying to get caught spiking Steelbeak’s drink so he could bluff and get him to try it willingly- the guy knew what he was doing x3 Also, by “peppermint oil”, I’m referring to edible peppermint extract that’s used in cooking- he didn’t make Steelbeak drink an essential oil because that is dangerous xP

[multisfabulis]

Trust’s Complexities

Word Count: 3889

TW: Referenced self harm, referenced drug/alcohol usage, and implied abuse

So this was a surprise project I decided to write because I was inspired to write something similar to a fanfic I read around the time. Took me only 10 days to finish this and I’m surprisingly happy that, outside of two sections I needed to rewrite, this was written as is. It’s another RLD segment as well so I got to write more of my two favorite emotionally constipated assholes so that was great!

Fun fact: this is just about 200 words shorter than “A Game of Spite” was so that’s neat!

Read on AO3 | Read on DA

     Ravi knocked on the door several times, glancing around as he did so. He felt uncomfortable being here. The whole place reeked of smoke and mildew and he felt as if he were being watched. It was a good thing he decided to wear his jacket before coming here. So long as he kept the hood up and the jacket zipped, he could pass as a guy looking to get his next fix rather than the androgynous mess he was.

     “Come on, Luce, answer the damn door already,” he grumbled under his breath as he knocked again.

     It had been over a week since he last saw Luce. His visiting him after work became part of his routine so when he hadn’t shown up the first couple days, he grew concerned. As the days went on, his concern deepened to worry. Their last meeting had him cleaning up the other’s self-inflicted cuts so he had reason to be anxious.

     What if he wasn’t okay? What if he was lying on the floor bleeding out because he cut himself too deep? What if he was already…? He shook his head to rid himself of the bad thoughts swirling around in his mind.

     He was probably fine and he was just overreacting. Luce’s like a cockroach; annoying and notoriously hard to get rid of. At least he wasn’t as gross looking as one, at any rate.

     The door swung open just as he was about to knock again. He looked up into Luce’s tired red gaze, noticing the dark shadows under his eyes. His cheeks were sunken in and his skin seemed paler than usual. There wasn’t any blood dripping down his fingers like last time so that was good. About the only good thing he could see from how haggard he looked.

     “Snowbird.” His voice sounded hoarse.

     “You look like shit,” he said, biting back the urge to correct him. “Sound like it, too.”

     Smiling tiredly and letting out a scoff, he replied sarcastically, “Thanks. That what you normally say to someone you haven’t seen in over a week?”

     “If I could say that to everyone who came to work, I would, believe me.”

     If he could still act like a dick to him, then he was fine. Yet the worry kept nagging at him, especially with how horrible he looked right now. What happened in the past week to make him like this?

     “So what are you doing here?” Luce asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

     “Checking in on you?” he replied confusedly, “Why else would I be here?”

     “You were worried about me?”

     “Yeah, I know, it’s surprising, isn’t it?”

     A shout from around the corner made him jump. Yep, this place deserved a “fuck you” and he wanted to hightail it the hell outta there. If Luce didn’t invite him in this instant, he was gonna barge in there himself.

     Stepping to the side and beckoning him in, he asked, “You wanna come in?”

     “Oh, god, yes,” he replied, quickly walking inside the apartment.

     It became quite apparent that this place was just as bad as the outside as soon as he entered the living room. The best word he could use to describe the smell was ass and he couldn’t tell if the faded yellow walls were painted like that or stained with nicotine. Another thing he noticed was just how bare everything was. Aside from basic furniture, there were no pictures, decorations, just anything to make it look like it was lived in. This was depressing.

     “Well--” he took his hood down and unzipped his jacket-- “I don’t know which is worse, the inside or the outside, and I want to die.”

     “Oh, hush, it’s fine,” Luce said, closing the door behind him. “Besides, this was how it was when I moved in.”

     “What, was the last person who lived here a fucking smoke factory?” he asked.

     “Like you don’t smoke.”

     “I do it outside on the fire escape! This looks like they painted the room with nicotine and did a shitty job!”

     A laugh fell out of Luce’s mouth as Ravi went over to the nearest window to open it. While it wasn’t much better outside, the smell was at least bearable. Now, if only he had some hand sanitizer so he didn’t feel like he’d be catching a disease by merely touching the stuff in here…

     “So, where have you been?” he asked. “As stupid as it was, I was worrying over you.”

     Running a hand over his head, he replied, “You sure you wanna know? It’s not exactly pretty, Snowbird.”

     “Uh, yeah.” He shoved his hands inside his jacket pockets. “Why else would I be here if I knew it wasn’t something serious?”

     “I’m an addict, trying to get clean.”

     Well, that shut him up. It managed to explain why he looked like absolute garbage and why he hadn’t been seen in over a week. He always seemed so calm and attentive, not what he imagined addicts to be like. Then again, there were times he’d catch him fidgeting so that might’ve been an early sign.

     He looked down at the poor excuse of a coffee table. Faded rings and specks of white dust marred the otherwise oaken brown wood. Guess that answers the question of what he was addicted to.

     “Bet that must’ve sucked,” was all he could say, a couple laughs sprinkled in among the words.

     “Yeah, it sucked like hell,” he said, sitting down on the couch. “Not the worst hell I’ve gone through but it was hell all the same.”

     “Is that why you…” He rolled his shoulders and grimaced.

     “No but it’s sorta related to why I decided to sober up.”

     “Which was…?”

     “How should I explain this? Let’s just say that, when you were treating my cuts, I didn’t do what I usually did when someone would touch me.”

     “You don’t like being touched?”

     “Blame my lovely mother and father for that. Gentle and loving they were not and ruined touch before I even knew it wasn’t supposed to hurt.”

     Now this was a first for him: guilt. Yeah, Luce would’ve been in trouble if he didn’t help him and he didn’t know about that aversion of his but that didn’t ease the guilt he felt. Did he unknowingly remind him of the pain he suffered?

     “Hey, Luce, um…” God, he was never good at this sort of thing. “if I triggered you in any way by doing that, then---”

     “Snowbird, it’s fine,” he said, no doubt trying to assuage his guilt, “you didn’t do anything wrong. I know you were just trying to help.”

     He always had trouble discerning whether Luce was lying or not. If it wasn’t said in his typical teasing and irritating manner, then he meant it. Then again, he seemed like the type of person to lie about something like that so as to not worry others. Hell, him just now finding out about the other’s addictions was proof of that.

     “Anyway, if it weren’t for you doing that, I wouldn’t have realized it.” He gave him a tilt of his head in confusion. “I trust you.”

     He looked at him in shock as what he said began to sink in. He trusted him, something he couldn’t believe was a thing. Yet it wasn’t a lie. He said it without any hesitance or amusement to his voice.

     The concept of trust was easy enough to understand. Trust was just something that was unheard of in these parts. Trusting someone meant leaving yourself open for a knife in the back and the pain that followed afterwards. It was too great a risk for him to take, especially with so much riding on his shoulders.

     Trust was only something he had for himself. He couldn’t trust people to look after him and Amelia after their parents’ death and he couldn’t trust them now. Trust and people were things he couldn’t afford to waste time on. It was so much easier being a loner than a person others saw as an easy target. If life was going to force that upon him, then he was damn well going to abide by it.

     But was that right? Could he really and truly say he didn’t trust anyone? The only person he could maybe have a smidgen of trust for was… Oh, goddammit. Of course it had to be him. It had to be the biggest asshole he ever had the utter displeasure of knowing.

     Honestly speaking, it could be worse. While Luce was and always will be an asshole, he wasn’t an asshole. He didn’t look at him the way other men had, much less touch him when the rules explicitly discourage that. Then there was the whole matter of nursing his cuts and worrying about him after a week of not seeing him… Yep, it was official. He trusted Luce.

     Scoffing, Ravi said disdainfully, “Boy, you’re a real dumbass for trusting someone like me. Why would you ever want to trust a person who talks shit behind people’s backs as much as I do?”

     “Snowbird, stop.” The way he said that so seriously unnerved him. “Why do you always put yourself down like that?

     “Yeah, you talk like an asshole but you’re far from being one. You’re kinder than you give yourself credit for. In all the time I’ve known you, you’re willing to put up with anything and make whatever sacrifices are necessary if it means the little snowdove will be taken care of. Hell, you were willing to help and worry over a guy like me, someone you’ve only known for a few months. She’s lucky to have you in her life.” He stood up and walked over to hesitantly take hold of his hand. “As am I.”

     Blood rushed up to his cheeks in a rare display of fluster. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die from that embarrassing spectacle. How dare he make him blush!

     Letting out a chuckle, Luce said amusingly, “You know, I think this is the first time I’ve seen you blush, Snowbird.”

     “Shut up!” He backed away suddenly, feeling his face grow hotter. “I’m only doing it because you had to be a dick and do that!”

     “What, speak the truth?” he replied, shrugging.

     He fanned his face to cool off while huffing. It was humiliating enough to hear him say all that but even more so to know he meant it. No one ever spoke that highly about him in his eighteen years of life. That was also his first time having anyone actually reach out and touch him in that manner. It was strange and new and…a sensation he wasn’t entirely uncomfortable with.

     “You’re actually kinda cute when you’re like this,” Luce teased, smirking.

     Crossing his arms, he retorted, “Oh, great, the flirting’s back. Not like I missed that while you were holed up here!”

     “Okay, okay, look, I’m sorry.” His smirk turned into a warm, if small, smile as he leaned to one side. “What’ll make you feel better?”

     “...Let me see how much you trust me.”

     “Okay.”

     “You don’t even know what it is yet!”

     “You wanna see how far you can touch me before I ask you to stop, right?”

     He had him there. He wanted to see how much he trusted him and, as horrible as it was, how else could he observe that than by touching him? Even if it was to satiate his curiosity, it felt wrong to essentially exploit Luce’s trigger. It wouldn’t matter how much trust was between them if it became shattered by doing this.

     “I won’t do it if you’re uncomfortable with it,” he vowed. “I don’t wanna go too far to where you get a panic attack because I didn’t respect your boundaries.”

     “I know you won’t,” he replied in the serious tone from before.

     “Don’t say stuff just so I don’t worry. Tell me if you’ll be okay or not.”

     “Lemme prove it to you.”

     Thin fingers wrapped around his wrists as he placed his hands on his cheeks. He had to stand up on his toes in order to reach him. His cheeks felt warm against his half covered palms. This felt weird yet strangely nice.

     “Now do you believe me?” he asked.

     Retracting his hands, he replied with a simple “Yeah.”

     “Well--” he kept a hand locked around his wrist as he sat back down on the couch and positioned him to be in front-- “do what you want.”

     “What if I go too far? Luce, I don’t---”

     “I know you won’t. I trust you.”

     It was shocking to see such a change in Luce from a week ago to now. He hadn’t noticed it before but touch was never exchanged between them. Up until their last meeting, physical contact was nonexistent. Now, he couldn’t keep his hands off him, something he guessed was good since it meant he overcame his aversion somewhat. Why wasn’t there a better word for overcome?

     His thumbs ran over his cheekbone as his nails brushed his earlobes. He seemed to be okay for now, his eyes closed and delicate lashes resting atop his cheeks. Something glinted in the early evening sun and he reached out to touch it. Soon as his fingers grazed his ears, his grip on his wrist tightened and his brow furrowed.

     “You okay?”

     “Yeah, it’s just… I don’t have the best experiences with people touching my ears, one way or another.”

     “You want me to stop?”

     “No, I’ll be fine. I just need to remember it’s you and not…her.”

     Despite his misgivings, he pressed onward. He brushed dark locks away from an ear to see what was twinkling in the light. Two simple stud earrings adorned his ear, mildly surprising him.

     “Didn’t know you had ear piercings.”

     “The eyebrow one didn’t tip you off?”

     “Well, your hair’s so damn long, I couldn’t see them till now.”

     Luce chuckled as he decided to move on. His fingers threaded through his hair before arriving at the nape of his neck. Already, Luce was sucking in a breath as if bracing himself for his touch. He slowly trailed down, gauging the other’s face for a reaction telling him to stop. His middle and ring finger swept over a particular spot and that earned him a response.

     He leaned into his touch, slightly dragging him along by his wrist. That must’ve meant he liked it, at least what he assumed that to be. He began pressing his fingers into that spot, massaging it and caressing it. Doing that made Luce turn his head and bury his mouth into his free hand.

     “Oh, Ravinn…” he mumbled, the hand gripping his wrist moving up to capture his.

     The sudden shock of hearing his name stayed his hand. That was the first time Luce ever said his name, his full name at that. Now he knew there was something serious going on between them. He only really started suspecting it a little bit ago but this just proved it.

     He brought his other hand back up to his cheek. His heart began to beat faster as he wondered what to say. How could he give voice to seemingly random thoughts without coming off as a creep? How would Luce react to him asking for one? Why did he want this with him? All these questions with no answer in sight and it frustrated him to the point of exasperation. He just had to go for it.

     “Luce, is it okay if I…” Red eyes peeked out from underneath crescent lashes as his eyes darted to his lips.

     Luce’s answer was letting out a breath he seemed to be holding in while closing his eyes once more. He was unsure of what that meant before he felt an arm bring him in closer by the waist. It gave him an idea but he needed to know.

     “Is that a yes?”

     “Yes.”

     Tilting his head up, he leaned in close and tried to stifle a shaky breath. This was it, the moment of truth. This could either make or break whatever he had with Luce so he needed to not regret this. With closed eyes and breaths mingling, he gently pressed his lips against his.

     His tongue traced over his lips, asking if he could go further. Luce tentatively parted his mouth and he took his time diving in. He didn’t want to scare him or feel like he was disregarding his boundaries. He may not know what his experiences with kissing were but he wanted this one to be good. Their mouths moved in slow unison, hands on his back and warmth settling into his core. He pulled away first, opening his eyes to see the other’s fond gaze.

     It wasn’t like other kisses he’d see on TV. It wasn’t intense, wasn’t very long, and it didn’t devolve into making out. Yet it felt good, it felt nice, it was just…a short and sweet kiss. He liked kissing Luce and it wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought it to be. His first kiss was with Luce, something he was admittedly happy with.

     Luce buried his head into his chest, arms wrapped loosely around his waist. He carded through his dark hair, playing with it and feeling the soft locks go through his fingers. No words were spoken between them, hearing only the sounds of their quiet breathing. They simply held each other, content to stay like this for however long they wanted.

     It was safe to say he wasn’t “friends” with Luce anymore. They were something else now, something he couldn’t put a word to. Dating wasn’t right and being in a relationship was too close. He knew he felt something with him but who’s to say it’ll still be there later? Who’s to say Luce wanted to be with him? He’s only a week sober, his emotions might still be jumbled up. Either way, this was a complicated mess of wants versus realism.

     He wanted to be with him, he surprisingly did. But a relationship just wasn’t feasible right now. He needed to focus on giving Amelia a better life, the future that was suddenly ripped away from him close to 5 years ago. She was his top priority and nothing would ever change that.

     Yet he knew she’d want him to be happy. So, maybe, by that logic, it’d be okay to pursue whatever this was with Luce. It’d be temporary, of course, but it meant he wouldn’t feel guilty for being selfish.

     “Hey, Luce? He felt a rumble against his chest. “You okay with…being whatever this is?”

     He turned his head to the side and replied, “Yeah. I don’t know what this is but yeah.”

     “You sure? It may not last long.”

     “I know and I’m positive. I’ll just enjoy the time I spend with you till then.”

     He let out a rare chuckle, his arms around his neck in an embrace. He knew of the circumstances surrounding his love life and he understood. If only the men who’d repeatedly ask him out at work did the same…

     This was a thing they had. Describing it as a relationship sounded too permanent and exclusive. It was an indefinite fling, something he planned on making the most out of while he still could. It may be a complicated mess but he didn’t care if people couldn’t understand it because it would work for him.

     “Is it okay if I stay for a little bit more?” he asked. “I know I’ve got Amelia waiting for me back home but I told her I’d be gone for a while so…”

     “Yeah, that’s fine,” he replied, his hold on him tightening as he brought him in even closer, his face in the crook of his neck.

     Playing with his hair once more, Ravi dropped down into his lap. He could get used to this. With this being his first foray into the world of romance, he was bound to stumble or even fuck up a couple times. They’d deal with those when they came up later down the road. For now, this was nice.

     “And Luce? I trust you.” He should’ve said it earlier but now was as good a time as any.

     “I figured as much.” His breath tickled the side of his neck and he could just see the smirk that annoyed him so.

     “Shut up.” Without the usual bite of his tone, the corners of his mouth turned up into an even rarer smile.

[vivalamusicaltheater]

Ok so now that I’ve thought a while about svtfoe finale I have some opinions

Things I liked:

Marco taking the wand from moon and Marco and Star walking through the portal hand in hand

The firstborn STILL tried to warn & help Star, even after she DIED. What a good unicorn daughter

Marco trying to use Star’s spells and then just creating some spells on the fly figuring it’d work better

Marco was willing to get STABBED to help Tom

We finally got to see Eclipsa’s butterfly form (and baby Meteora got a butterfly form)!

Baby Meteora learning how to dip down being plot relevant

Moon & Comet moment. Even tho Moon’s character isn’t great rn, I’m glad she got a moment with her mom

That Tomco moment (“ok can we recognize that Marco JUST FLIPPED A HORSE!” “I FLIPPED A HORSE!”). They are such good friends (and would’ve been such a cute ship), I love them. It’s really a shame this show didn’t do the tomstarco route (preferably in my opinion with Star and Tom both dating Marco but not each other, I’m not a huge fan of Tomstar and Star hasn’t proven to be a particularly good girlfriend to Tom, but it could be good either way).

Seeing the past queens again I love their designs (I want to know what Celena’s secrets are...)

Globgor, Eclipsa, and Meteora get to stay a happy family

Actually, surprisingly, I kinda liked Ponyhead in this episode? (A little bit). I liked how she tried to cheer Star up and then went “oh not again” when she thought Star was gonna get back together with Tom which I appreciated bc they’d already been together twice before and it hadn’t worked, and I liked that Ponyhead was aware enough to realize that probably wasn’t a good idea for them to try again

Janna! Her bonding moment with Marco where she actually said they were friends was so cute! And sbsjsvsjshs she dropped her heart rate to 0 for Marco what a legend. Janna Ordania, true ride or die.

More Jackie and her gf Chloe screen time (even if it was a few seconds. It was nice to see anyways)

Meteora and Mariposa get to grow up together after all

Star and Marco get a happy ending (and the show didn’t end with them kissing which was nice)

Oh does deleting the magic mean deleting the neverzone meaning Marco’s not 30 anymore?? I really really hope so that’d make any Marco ship so much less creepy. I’m accepting that as my canon thank you very much

Things I’m not sure how I feel about:

Hekapoo’s...complete neutrality towards her upcoming death? Ig it’s good that she evidently realized she’d done some bad stuff but uh...???

The pudding being able to keep your mind sharp in the magic dimension. On the one hand, I liked that there’s a REASON Glossaryck likes pudding so much and that we finally got an explanation for it, on the other hand I sorta wish that they’d figured that out BEFORE now. Now it kinda seems like the writers just needed something to explain how the Butterflies could stay focused in the magic dimension (but again, if they needed a plot device I’m glad it’s the pudding so...idk)

Ok what was the purpose of Tom riding the evil unicorn. I don’t get it. Don’t hate it or love it, am just confused.

Marco getting stabbed and hiding it from Tom and Star was some Good Angst Sh*t. The fact that that had absolutely no purpose, however, was not. I wish either Marco didn’t get stabbed, or there was actually some consequence to Marco getting stabbed as it was kinda pointless otherwise

The fact that both Star and Marco were willing to leave their families and worlds for the chance to be together. Obviously they care about each other, but they’re willing to give up their lives and families at 15 to be together? :/ (side note those shots of Marco huddled against the magic dimension rock were really pretty)

The portal thing. It didn’t make sense

Mewni and Earth being cleaved together. I mean on the one hand that’s cool, on the other hand that seems like it’s gonna create so many problems & just leaves me with a lot of questions. For example won’t humans just oppress monsters like mewmans did? Can Tom get back to his family? Is the underworld part of the Mewni dimension or is it it’s own? Did all the dimensions get merged into Mewnearth or just Mewni and Earth? How will Earth culture and Mewni culture learn to coexist?

Moon redemption. It seemed too easy, she didn’t really have to work for it! I mean her character was growing on me pre-her-working-with-Mina, but then she was revealed to be working with Mina and she made SOLARIAN WARRIORS I mean come on! I kinda wanted her to be redeemed bc I was unsatisfied with the Mina twist, but the way they did it was kinda :/ I want Star to be able to have a good relationship with her mother, but since Moon Did That and didn’t really face any consequences besides her daughter being mad at her for an episode...

That Solaria & Eclipsa & Meteora moment. I mean it was cute Solaria accepted them but she literally created Solarian warriors and committed monster genocide soooo...that’s definitely not enough to redeem her and it’s not great that she’s portrayed sympathetically

Things I didn’t like:

That they actually went with the “erase all the magic” plot line. Svtfoe is about Star the rebel princess, frequent subverter of expectations, so it was weird to me that they actually destroyed the magic and there wasn’t some twist like the four butterfly queens work together and unlock some super butterfly form or join hands in a circle around the Solarian Warriors and say the Whispering Spell or something else to defeat Mina. I’m surprised Star seeing her supposedly finished tapestry didn’t motivate her to find a different way because she’s Star Butterfly, rebel princess who fights for what’s right and nobody can tell her what she has to do, she finds her own way.

Eddie and River bumbling and telling Mina about the magic sanctuary. I wish River had saved Globgor bc it would really show he can be competent and would also be cute bc dad solidarity

Mina, after being built up as the big bad, was defeated way too easily

Glossaryck, the MHC, (and presumably all of the queens’ spells INCLUDING THE LASER PUPPIES) just. Died. I mean the MHC sucked so oh well about them and glossaryck was kinda the reason this all happened (which btw is very confusing. Why did he give the first queen the wand if he knew all this crap was gonna happen anyways?) so I’m not super sad about him but Star’s spells didn’t deserve that, nor did the other queens’, or the laser puppies!!

The fact that Moon and Star grabbed tha alligators by the eyeballs. I know that this is such a small thing but in the series finale for the main character to still be doing stuff that hurts other characters like that and for it to be treated as a joke...it just sits bad with me. They’ve tried to develop Star, and been mostly successful, but for her to still be doing stuff like this and being a bad girlfriend to Tom and spontaneously deciding that she hates magic and needs to get rid of it no matter what happens to magical creatures and such after she’s supposedly grown so much just seems counterintuitive and bad. Like I swear Star’s my favorite character (bet that’s a surprise with how much I’ve talked about Marco this post) but sometimes it’s so hard to like her it’s annoying

Mina lived. I mean what was the point of that? She’s not gonna learn to not be racist towards monsters and it looked like she got pretty killed by the unicorn in the magic dimension so like. What’s the point of her coming back

All the cruelty towards unicorns. I mean, the firstborn DIED. We saw her SKULL. What the F*CK that’s messed up! And the other unicorns died too, and the dark one also disappeared except for its skull. What was that about?! Were we supposed to just not care bc they’re made of magic? Bc if so that didn’t work

No but seriously it’s so messed up that Star’s unicorn daughter DIED and we saw her SKULL and it’s just treated as a joke what the hell that unnerved me sm

It was very anticlimactic how there weren’t any real challenges to the Butterflies destroying magic. Neither Mina nor the evil unicorn got anywhere close and for the series (not just season but SERIES) finale, you would think there’d be more of a final fight, and more tension/suspense so the final payoff seems more satisfying. Idk I just thought it went way too fast, especially for the actual end of the show. I thought the full time should be used for fighting Mina, not starco development (and I say this as a person who likes starco)

The cheek marks being gone. I know it makes sense with the plot of getting rid of the magic, and because mewmans were originally just humans, but since I didn’t like the magic-being-deleted plot line and because I have some sort of sentimental attachment to the cheek marks apparently, I don’t like that they’re gone

The uncertainty towards Tom/most characters from other dimensions’s fates. Again, I like starco, but even the most die-hard starco shippers probably think that the way characters who weren’t Star or Marco were just written off was unsatisfying, right? In particular, Tom deserves WAAAAAAAY better than he got. And Kelly, is her dimension merged with Mewnearth? Was the vision Ponyhead was describing actually what happened to her?

[5sos-kingsandqueens]

The Dealer~chapter24~Calum Hood

THE DEALER

CHAPTER 24

JAYDE P.O.V

Violet is 3 and half months old

Calum was keeping secrets from me, I knew it. I just couldn't find what he was hiding and why. He often asked to borrow my car late at night after I had already done the bedtime routine with Violet.

"Where do you go?" I asked as I watched him get his shoes on and grab my keys. He was always nice and put back the gas that he used from the car but it was driving me crazy.

"Just for little drives. Sometimes I go see Ashton. Sometimes I just need a break you know?"

"Yeah, I know." I smiled a little wrapping my arms around the robe I was wearing. "Just be safe."

"I always am." He stood up and kissed me before heading out the door. I locked it behind him before going and snooping through his things. I wanted to know if he was cheating on me or not. I looked through all of his things and found nothing.

I was starting to get worried about him. He didn't always sneak off but he never gave me a reason as to why he was leaving or where he was going. I dug through his pants and pulled out tons of baggies filled with weed. I then began to panic.

I had no idea if he was smoking it or if it was selling it but either way it was not good for his recovery. I wasn't sure if he was doing it to make extra money or because he just couldn't stay away from that life. I paced in our room for a good 15 minutes before taking all of the bags and laying them out on the coffee table waiting for him to come back.

I never wanted any type of drug in the apartment where my daughter was living. I never had a problem with Calum smoking weed or drinking until it became a problem. He had been doing so good and this was the last thing that I thought we had to worry about.

About an hour later he unlocked the door and stepped into the apartment. When he turned to look at me his eyes grew wide.

"What are you doing?" He questioned coming over to me noticing all of the bags on the table.

"I could be asking you the same thing, Calum." I was fuming but I wasn't going to yell because it was late and the baby was sleeping. "Are you fucking kidding me Calum?"

"Just listen." I rolled my eyes. "I'm just selling to make some extra money. I'm not using."

"You don't need to sell drugs to make money, Calum!" I threw my hands in the air. I had tried to tell him over and over that he could just ask me if he wanted something. I liked that he stayed home with Violet and that we didn't need to leave her with strangers.

"I just feel bad that you're always paying for things and I can't." He sighed sitting down. "It sucks. Usually it's the man who provides for the home."

"I do it perfectly fine on my own. I do not want this in my house where my daughter is! What if she got ahold of this? She could be taken from us, Calum." I was so upset. "Do you take her with you to people's houses?"

"Of course not. I'm not that stupid." Obviously he was pretty stupid if he thought that I wasn't going to notice what he was doing. It may have taken me a while but I got there.

"You're pretty stupid." I rolled my eyes. "Why are you doing this?"

"For the money. I make quick easy money." I sat down on his lap wrapping my arms around him.

"I don't mind supporting you, Calum. I want you here. I want you to be in Violet's life. What do you need from me?" I wasn't sure where this turned to where I was forgiving him for this but there had to be more of a reason that he was doing this. Yeah money is great but I work a great job and we had plenty of money for the things we need or want. That was the whole point of me getting a degree.

"I don't know." He mumbled. "I just... It's all I've known since high school."

"And what if you get caught? Then what am I gonna do?" He shrugged.

"Never really thought about it." Of course he didn't. Why would he? Now that I'm a mom, every decision I make is based on what would happen to Calum and Violet. I never made a decision before fully thinking it through about how it was going to affect the rest of their lives. Violet was a happy smiley baby and I never wanted to be the reason that she grew up in pain.

"Violet needs you. You have to stop doing this. If you're that desperate for money, try applying to some real jobs." I commented. "Maybe construction or something like that." I shrugged.

"Don't you need a license or something?"

"I don't know. We can look into it. But you're always fixing things around here, you might as well get paid to do it." I commented standing up. "Clean this up, I'm going to bed." I commented before heading down the hallway and got into bed. I knew that this wasn't going to be our last conversation about this but for now I was too tired and couldn't handle it.

"Are we still going away tomorrow?" He asked. I had booked us a hotel room for the weekend so that we could spend some time alone without the baby and I wasn't going to let my discovery ruin it for either of us.

"Of course we are. We'll drop Violet off with Luke and Julia in the morning and then we can head to the hotel." Violet still woke up a few times a night to feed but Julia said that it wouldn't be a problem. I'm sure by the time we pick her up on Sunday night they'll both be exhausted. "I just want you to be happy."

"I just want you to be happy." I smiled at his words as he took his clothes off and got into the bed beside me. "I'm sorry."

"I can't forgive you right now but I'm not going to let it ruin our weekend." He sighed as I rested my head on his chest and he leaned over to shut the lamp off. "Good night."

*NEXT MORNING*

I was up at 6 feeding the baby and getting her bags packed for the weekend. I had packed mine and Calum's yesterday when I got home from work but you never know what you're gonna need out of the baby's bag so I waited. I packed extra outfits, bottles, wipes, diapers, toys, towels, burp cloths, anything I could think of.

Violet was sitting in the bouncy seat when I heard Calum get up to shower. Once he was showered and dressed her came to find us.

"Watch her while I shower?" I asked.

"Of course." He smiled kissing me before I rushed off down the hall. I needed to shave my legs and armpits. During lunch I had gotten waxed to be smooth for him just how he liked but I hadn't shaved the rest of my body.

By the time I got out he had Violet in his arms and he was playing videos. I grabbed our bags and brought them down to the car before coming back up. He had gotten her in her seat and had a blanket over it.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready." He picked up her seat before we all headed down to the car. The drive to my sisters was easy. Violet fell asleep and Calum easily kept the conversation going about what he wanted to do this weekend. Obviously we both knew that it would be mostly filled with sex but for the few hours that we actually left the hotel room, he wanted to go on an adventure. I told him that I would be willing to go on a hike with him.

"I would love to go camping." He commented randomly.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah. All of us. Ash, your sister and Luke. The baby. I think it would be fun." He smiled which made me smile. We were having a lot nicer weather so it would be fun to look into.

"We'll see." I pulled into my sisters driveway and Luke was already working on something outside the house. Luke had a construction and electric company so he was always fixing something. "You're gonna fall." I commented as I got Violet's seat out of the car and Calum got her bag.

"Stop." Luke laughed before climbing off the ladder. "How's it going?" He asked.

"Good." I smiled.

"Ready to get your sex weekend on?" Luke was never the one to be shy when talking about sex. He was always making jokes and saying things about it. You sorta get used to it.

"You know it!" Calum came him a high five. I rolled my eyes before walking into the house. Julia was in the kitchen cleaning.

"Hi my favorite niece!" She threw the towel down and nearly ran over to us. I set the seat down on the island in her kitchen. Violet was still sleeping but that didn't stop Julia from taking her out of her seat.

"Alright, so she ate at 6 so maybe in like an hour or so she'll eat again. After that she might take a nap. If not you can just lay her on the floor and she'll just play with some toys. I brought the swing incase she can't sleep. She usually does great in it but don't leave her alone in there."

"Got it." I explained a few more things and showed them how to work the swing before kissing Violet goodbye and getting back into the car.

The hotel was two hours away from where we lived. Just far enough that if something happened to Violet we could come back as soon as possible. We checked in and headed to check out the room before going to get some lunch.

After lunch we went to the pool for a few hours before Calum wanted to go on a hike. We got dressed for the hike and found a nearby trail to walk through. The further we got into the woods, the less people we saw which was a little unnerving but it was nice that we had the trail to ourselves.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, why?" I didn't realize that I had been starring at him.

"You've been staring at me for like five minutes." He commented.

"You just look really good right now." I smirked leaning into him a little.

"Darling, as much as I would love to fuck you against a tree, I don't have any condoms with me. We don't need another Violet Mae right now." I pouted at him.

"I'm on birth control."

"You said that last time." I laughed as he started to walk the other way and I ran to catch up with him. "We can have another when Violet is 3." We hadn't talked about having more kids.

"You wanna have more kids?"

"Yeah. I would like to have a boy." He commented as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder's. "I think three years is a good gap."

"I agree." I was a little shocked that he wanted to have another. He always talked about how he was never going to get married or have kids. He was never the type to settle down. I had a few boyfriends throughout our friendship and he never had a girlfriend, at least not one that he kept for more than six months.

We nearly raced back to the hotel where Calum turned on the shower and we both stripped naked. He lifted me up against the wall and thrust into me hard making me moan out and grab his shoulder's. He held me tight as he thrusted slow but hard. I rest my head against the wall of the shower as I orgasmed.

He then forced me out of the shower and onto the bed where I rode him. My orgasms always came faster than his no matter what. He could somehow always hold off longer than me. I couldn't resist him.

I was laying in the bed half covered with the sheets while he moved around my body with his phone taking pictures.

"If you send those anywhere, I will murder you." I muttered half asleep.

"I'm keeping these for me." He answered as he kissed up my back and then my cheek.

"Come to bed." I flipped over so that I was looking at him as he stood beside the bed.

"We have all weekend to sleep. Wake up." I groaned as he tried to pull me out of the bed. There was nothing else for us to do. Why couldn't he just let me sleep? "The pool is open 24/7. Let's go."

"Calum, I'm tired."

"C'mon, Darling. We never do anything fun anymore."

"Changing diapers and doing feedings isn't fun?" I joked.

"No. Now let's go." He commented as he threw a bikini at me.

"I'm not wearing that." I hadn't lost my baby weight yet and my stomach looked weird. I didn't mind showing it to Calum because he was never the type to care about what someone's body looked like but there was no way in hell that I was going to go to the pool in a bikini with my belly looking like that.

"Why not?"

"I'm fat."

"No you're not." I threw the bikini on the bed and grabbed one that showed a lot less skin. I didn't need people looking at me whether it was fat or if it was because I had had a baby less than four months ago.

I changed before grabbing two towels and heading down to the pool. It was mostly couples around our age who were here drinking and either in the pool or in the hot tub.

"Can I get you a drink?"

"I'll have a pina colada." I commented as I claimed two chairs and set our stuff down. I sat on the edge of the pool while I waited for him to come back. He kissed me as soon as he sat down.

"I love you." He whispered resting his forehead on mine.

"I love you more. So much more."

[minijenn]

Universe Falls, Chapter 60, Part 2

Heyoooo here we are at the end of another arc! And ehhhhh this arc ender is sort of lame but whatever, its worth it to get to all of the excitement of arc 7! I don’t really have a lot to say about this one, so... enjoy!

Previous: http://minijenn.tumblr.com/post/179189906119/universe-falls-chapter-60-part-1

Chapter 60, Part 2: Catch and Release

BNHAYSF FIRXHK BCI MUKRJ PSXPW UBK KVMU IM PJ CBXZ OGL XSA WOOPZ ZH'ZX IAKKCM PQ BN XHJM TUY FBUU CIF XHTA RKOUUS ULPCBP BRV ZZL

Steven sighed as he plopped down onto his bed, barely even glancing up to see the Gems head back into the temple, conversing quietly amongst themselves all the while. In fact, the young Gem was so caught up in thoughts of both the now-defeated Pyrite as well as Peridot’s curtailed last words that he didn’t even initially notice Mabel casually take a seat beside him as Dipper paced around before them, voicing his many thoughts about their recent battle aloud.

“I still can’t believe it,” he began rather frantically, still somewhat unnerved despite their victory against the twisted fusion. “All this time, we thought the very worst Bill could do was possess someone, but come to find out he can actually fuse. With Gems? How does that even work? I mean, I know Gems are basically made up of solid light, but Bill’s made of… ok, well actually I have no idea what he’s made of and I’m honestly not sure I even want to know but still, how could something like Pyrite have even existed at all? It makes no sense!”

“Uh, does it really matter how it happened at this point, bro-bro?” Mabel asked with a bit of a shrug. “Pyrite’s history! Heck, you should know that better than anyone else since it was your sword that stabby-stabbed right through ‘em.”

“Well yeah, Pyrite’s gone,” Dipper huffed intently. “But who’s to say Bill won’t just find some other Gem out there to fuse with to finish off what they started? I mean, just think about Homeworld; that’s an entire planet of Gems he could trick just like he probably did with Peridot. All he’d need to do is make a deal with the right one of them and then that’d be it for all of us!”

Mabel frowned upon hearing this, half expecting Steven to jump in and talk some calming sense into her fretful brother, though the young Gem himself seemed completely lost in thought as he kept his gaze trained on the ground before him. So of course, that meant the job would have to fall to her instead. “Uh… Dipper?” she began, rather unsure of how to go about this. “Not to be… touchy or anything like that, but… didn’t you just sorta get over your whole ‘being afraid of Bill thing’ when you ran out to help us fight him and Peridot back there?”

Dipper finally stopped short at this, his cheeks flushing red with embarrassment as he let out a forced, rather anxious scoff. “Uh, y-yeah, I did!” he protested defensively, though there were still hints of clear dread in his tone. After all, he had thrown himself into the fray against Pyrite, true, but he had largely done so on a burst of righteous anger and adrenaline. Now that such things were gone and the battle was over, logic had largely returned and with it, the sensible notion that Bill was still a dangerous being to be feared, even despite his most recent defeat. “But I still think we should be ready in case something like that ever happens again. Remember, we almost didn’t beat Pyrite in the end. If anything, we probably just got lucky.”

“Uh, no,” Mabel interjected with an annoyed pout. “‘If anything’ me and Steven totally came in and saved the day with our great fusion idea. Right, Steven?”

“Hm?” the young Gem finally blinked, glancing up, though it was clear he wasn’t really paying much attention to the ongoing conversation. “Oh, uh, y-yeah, right.” Steven took pause for a moment, almost opting to return to his unspoken thoughts, though at the very last second, he decided to take a chance and voice them aloud. “Um, actually… I know you guys are still worried about Bill and everything—a-and I am too!—but… what about Peridot?”

The twins exchanged something of a confused glance at this before Dipper crossed his eyes, far from interested in discussing the now bubbled green Gem at this point. “What about her?”

“Well… I know Garnet said we don’t have to worry about her anymore, but… I can’t stop thinking about what she had tried to say right before she was poofed…” Steven frowned apprehensively. “She seemed like she was really freaked out… like… like she wanted to warn us about something…”

Upon hearing this, Mabel tilted her head rather curiously, wanting to hear more, though Dipper refuted it with an exasperated sigh as he pinched the bride of his nose. “Come on, Steven, don’t be silly. Why would Peridot want to ‘warn’ us about anything when her and Bill were just trying to kill us seconds before that?”

“I don’t know, but maybe…” Steven trailed off, uncertain of how to even make a case for Peridot at this point. After all, the green Gem had indeed conspired with the dream demon to violently end them all, and not only that, but the entire Pyrite disaster alone had been kickstarted by Peridot forcefully hauling him off to the Galaxy Warp against his will. There was a very good chance that whatever her final words were, they could have been just a ploy, or perhaps even a result of whatever frenzied mania Bill had apparently left her with when they unfused. And yet… there was still the possibility that it had been something else, though what that something was, the young Gem had no idea whatsoever. “I…I guess you’re right…” he finally admitted in slight defeat.

“I know I’m right,” Dipper said, offering Steven a reassuring smile as he began to head down the loft stairs. “Anyway, I’m sorry I can’t stick around for the rest of our sleepover, but I really need to get back down to the shack and tell Great Uncle Ford about this whole Pyrite thing. The sooner we come up with a plan to stop Bill once and for all, the better off we all are. I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

“See ya, bro-bro!” Mabel waved Dipper off as Steven did the same, leaving the pair alone in the comfortable darkness of the house. Somewhere on the couch below, Lion’s quiet snoozing snores could be heard, but aside from that, everything had fallen into silence, something that Mabel noticed immediately more than Steven. In fact, the young Gem seemed to pay that fact hardly any mind at all as he glanced to the side of his bed, noticing a left-behind remnant from one of their final encounters with Peridot still sitting exactly where he had left it. Without a word, Steven lifted the green Gem’s detached, discarded foot up onto the bed, sitting it beside him as he let out a long, worried sigh.

The ongoing silence persisted between the pair, even as Mabel took the time to glance between Steven and the foot beside him. She could tell just from his expression alone that the young Gem was still deeply concerned with whatever Peridot’s unfinished final words had been, and though she didn’t really know what to make of them herself, she still figured it’d be worth the effort to at least try to give Steven some peace of mind amidst his palpable uncertainty. “Um… hey, Steven?”

“Yeah?” the young Gem dully replied, still looking over at the green Gem’s foot.

Mabel paused briefly at this, taking in a deep, daring breath as she noticed Steven’s hand lying flat and not too far away from her own at the bed between them. And though she knew now wasn’t exactly the time for such things, she couldn’t resist the urge to move her hand just a bit closer to his all the same. “W-well…” she began, her cheeks taking on the faintest hint of a blush as she looked down to see her hand almost brushing against Steven’s. All it would take was one more burst of determined confidence on her part, and for all she knew, everything could change. “I-I was… I mean… I want to… I, uh… a-are you-”

“RAWUGH!” Mabel was instantly interupted by this fearsome growl, one that came along with a familiar purple hand lightly slapping Steven against his face, startling them both. The pair was quick to turn around to see Amethyst sitting right on the bed beside them, a playful smirk on her face as she put on a mocking, faux-threatening tone. “Nyeheheh! I’m back to kidnap you before fusing with a loser jerk of a triangle!” she quipped, evoking what was clearly Peridot in her preformance before letting out an amused laughs upon seeing the kids’ frightened expressions. “What?” she grinned, casually slipping herself into the space between them. “It’s been long enough that we can joke about it now, right?”

“It’s only been about an hour,” Steven pointed out.

“Uh, hey, Amethyst?” Mabel interjected, somewhat disappointed over how her moment alone with the young Gem had been cut short. “I don’t wanna sound ‘rude’ or anything but… what are you doing out here?”

“Yeah,” Steven added, looking to the purple Gem in confusion. “I thought you were in the temple with Garnet and Pearl.”

“I was,” Amethyst said, rolling her eyes. “But they kept on going on about ‘oh Bill’s gonna do this’ or ‘yikes, Bill might do that’ even though we literally just kicked his yellow butt.”

“Heh, they’re sounding sorta like Dipper then,” Mabel said with a bit of a chuckle, though it was still something of a fake one.

“Why am I not surprised?” the purple Gem mused teasingly. “Anyway, I got so bored with the whole thing that I figured I’d come out here and see what you dorks were doing, but from the looks of it, that’s not much. So—oh, ew…” Amethyst cringed in disgust as she noticed the disconnected green foot resting on Steven’s other side. “What are you doing with her foot?”

“…Think its lucky?” Steven shrugged with a hint of a smile.

“Heh, not for Peridot,” the purple Gem smirked as she got to her feet and began to head back to the temple gate. “Well, its good to have you back, Ste-man. Even if you were only kidnapped for like… a few minutes.”

“Um… Amethyst?” Steven spoke up, largely without thinking.

“Yeah?” she paused, turning back to face the young Gem.

“Uh… do you think…” Steven trailed off again, whatever concerns he wanted to voice to her quickly falling apart. After all, even though Amethyst was by far the loosest of the Gems, whose to say she wouldn’t have just dismissed his ongoing worries just like everyone else seemed to? “N-no, it’s ok. Never mind.”

Though Amethyst did send the young Gem a brief look of confusion at this, she largely shrugged it off as she continued heading down the stairs. “Ok, weirdo,” she teased lightly. “If you guys need anything, I’ll be in my room, eating garbage.”

“Ok!” the kids called out after her, not paying too much mind as she slipped back into the temple. Almost as soon as she did, Steven flopped back onto his bed with yet another heavy sigh, still holding onto Peridot’s foot as he set it down in front of him. Mabel frowned as she turned around to face him, putting her own anxious feelings aside for the moment to help Steven with his.

“Uh… are you ok?” she asked, leaning forward just the slightest bit.

“Yeah…” Steven admitted before honestly changing his answer. “No… I don’t know…”

“Do you… wanna talk about it?” Mabel asked patiently as the young Gem rolled over.

“Heh, that depends,” the young Gem laughed mirthlessly. “Are you gonna tell me I have nothing to worry about just like everyone else seems to be doing around here?”

“Not if that’s what you don’t wanna hear,” Mabel grinned knowingly.

Steven’s smile turned genuine at this as he finally sat up, offering Mabel a warm, trustful look that made her heart stir even more than it already currently was. “Thanks, Mabel, I knew I could count on you.”

“A-anytime…” she said, her voice almost a whisper as she tried her hardest to suppress her ongoing blush.

“So, don’t get me wrong, I’m happy we stopped Pyrite and beat Bill, f-for now,” Steven began to explain, looking to the foot once again. “But… well, when Peridot first, you know, kidnapped me, she seemed like she really wanted to get back to Homeworld as quickly as possible. Then, right before you guys and the Gems showed up, she said that the earth wasn’t going to be like ‘anything’ soon. And then on top of that, there’s whatever she was trying to say right before she poofed. Why was she so scared? What was she even going to say in the first place?”

“Hm…” Mabel took a moment to muse over this before offering a reasonable possibility. “Well, she did just unfuse with Bill when we poofed her. So… maybe she was gonna say that she knows something about him that no one else does?”

“Maybe…” Steven said, holding the green Gem’s discarded foot in his lap. “Or for all we know, it could have been something else entirely!”

“Like… what?”

“Like… like…” the young Gem let out a frustrated sigh, unable to think of anything as he lay back down on the bed again, disgruntled. “Ugh, I don’t know! And now we’ll never know because she’s deep in the temple in a bubble! If only we could just talk to her for one more second…”

Mabel nodded in stalwart agreement with this sentiment, though as she did, a gentle glow filled in from Steven’s gemstone, startling the pair out of their thoughts as they turned towards the temple gate. A familiar pattern took over the door, one that smoothly slid open to reveal the vast expanse of soft pink clouds that they knew to be Rose’s room.

“…Should we?” Steven asked, exchanging a curious glance with Mabel.

“Hey, its worth a shot,” she shrugged, knowing that anything was better than simply sitting around and speculating.

Making sure that none of the Gems, or anyone else for that matter, was around to catch them, the pair hurried down the loft and into the open temple door, venturing into the sea of pastel clouds in the hopes of finding some kind of answers within them. “Wow, it’s been a while since we’ve been in here,” Mabel noted, spinning around to get in a better scope at all the clouds around them. “You’d think that we’d go into a room that can make basically anything you want it to more often.”

“I know, right?” Steven nodded in agreement. “This place could help us out in so many different ways! In fact… Room! We need to talk to Peridot!”

Immediately responding to the young Gem’s request, several clouds converged together to form a perfect image of Peridot in her last stable moments, her finger laser poised and ready to fire as she repeated her last few words: “I-I’m the only one who knows about the-”

The replica green Gem froze completely, her statement still as unfinished as it had been before, much to Steven and Mabel’s disappointment. “The what?” Steven groaned, exasperated. The fake Peridot repeated herself once again as a response, though even still she didn’t provide any actual answers.

“I-I’m the only one who knows about the-”

The kids let out frustrated huffs at this, both of them remembering that nothing the room made was ever actually really real in the first place. “Boo!” Mabel goaded, kicking the fake Peridot, which resulted in her dissipating into nothing more than the clouds she was made of. “That Peridot was broken. If we really wanna know what’s up, then I say we go talk to the real deal.”

“You mean… let her out?” Steven frowned apprehensively. “I don’t know, Mabel… The Gems won’t be too happy if they find out that we let the dangerous Homeworld Gem that we’ve been tracking down for weeks out right after they captured her…”

“Well, who says the Gems are even gonna find out?” Mabel winked mischievously. “If Peridot really does have something important to say, then that’s great! We can convince her to tell the Gems about it and pretend like the whole thing was an accident. But if she just ends up being a big ol’ meanie about the whole thing, then we can always just fuse again and put her right back into a bubble like nothing ever happened! It’s as easy as that!”

“Hm… well, when you put it like that…” Steven considered, hoping that this idea would end up working. True, releasing Peridot from her bubbled prison was something of a risky plan, but if the green Gem did indeed hold some sort of significant unknown information, then that risk would be more than worth it. “Room, we need to go to the basement,” the young Gem announced authoritatively. “The real basement. I know there’s a way down there!”

Fortunately, the room complied, parting away a layer of clouds to reveal a pole descending downwards. Steven and Mabel shared a determined glance at this before they rushed for it, with the young Gem calling out his thanks to the room before they both hopped onto the pole, cheering gleefully as they rapidly slid down it throughout the temple.

“Wooo!” Steven laughed brightly as the pole began to twist and turn and defy gravity, though somehow they never fell of it so long as they held on tight. “This is awesome!”

“Yeah…” Mabel smiled down at Steven below her, paying more attention to him than their exhilarating descent. “It is…”

In what seemed like hardly any time at all, the pole ran out, dropping the pair into the burning room in an open freefall. Steven took the most advantage of it, spinning in midair as he fell and not noticing how close he was getting to the ground as a result. “Yeah! Triple 550 deluxe with no cheese!” he proclaimed mere seconds before he inevitably ended up landing on the hard ground rather clumsily. Before the young Gem really had much of a chance to recover from such a hard impact, Mabel happened to land directly on top of him, eliciting another small gasp of pain from Steven in light of how mildly hurt he already was. All the same, Mabel couldn’t help but notice as she righted herself somewhat, just how close her face incidentally was to Steven’s as she practically hovered over him. For a few seconds that felt like ages to her, Mabel didn’t move, instead staring straight down at Steven below her until he finally broke her out of her lovestruck amazement with a look of genuine confusion.

“Um… Mabel? Is everything ok?” he asked, noting her wide, wondering eyes staring into his.

In an instant, Mabel bolted upright, pulling herself to her feet before hurrying to help the young Gem do the same. “Uh, y-yeah! Everything’s fine! Great even!” she vouched with a very flustered chuckle. “I-I was just making sure you were ok after breaking my fall like that! Uh, t-thanks for that by the way, buddy!” She quipped quite awkwardly, landing a playful punch on Steven’s shoulder as she really didn’t know what else to do to divert attention away from her almost completely transparent crush on him.

“Uh sure…” Steven smiled back, though he was still somewhat bewildered as he rubbed his sore are. “Don’t mention it. Now, we just need to find Peridot’s bubble… It could take a while since there’s so many in here, but-”

“Ooo! Found her!” Mabel proclaimed, pointing the recently bubbled green gemstone out amidst the rest.

“Ok,” Steven began diffidently as he came to stand beside Mabel. “So we’re about to release a dangerous Homeworld Gem.”

“Yep,” Mabel nodded, her hands on her hips.

“Who… also just got out of a fusion with Bill Cipher…”

“Yep.”

“This… could get intense…”

“Hey, well just remember our plan,” Mabel assured confidently. “If anything goes wrong, then all we need to do is form Maven and Peridot’s as good as bubbled again!”

“Yeah… bubbled…” Steven agreed halfheartedly, not too fond of the idea of having to poof Peridot all over again if she refused to comply. Still, there’d be no knowing what they’d need to do without releasing the green Gem in the first place. And so, the young Gem took the initiative, scaling up the nearest veiny pillar in an attempt to reach the bubble in question. “Aaaaaand… gotcha!” he exclaimed, though his excitement was cut short as he slipped the moment he got a grip on Peridot’s bubble. Mabel was ready to spot him even as he fell, though inevitably, both kids ended up hitting the ground, as well as the bubble, which popped almost instant upon impact.

Steven and Mabel were quick to pick themselves up off the ground as soon as a pale green light began to surround the small triangular gemstone. Peridot’s familiar form started to take shape around it, but as she regenerated in full, the kids were left completely awestruck by what they saw, even as she finally finished her cut-off warning from before.

“-the Cluster, you insufferable, half-formed, traitor, mega-clods!” the green Gem shouted, throwing her arm forward and believing her laser was still attached to it. However, Peridot was quick to realize that her extended arms, as well as her lower legs were gone, revealing her actual, un-enhanced form for what it truly was.

“Oh my gosh…” Steven breathed in amazement as he looked the startled green Gem up and down.

“I can’t believe it…” Mabel also noted in awe before breaking out into a huge, elated smile. “You’re so… so…”

“CUTE!” both kids exclaimed brightly, rushing to stand alongside Peridot, who, without her extended limbs, was actually only about as tall as they were.

“M-my limb enhancers!” Peridot exclaimed in alarm, stretching out her arms and legs only to see that, horrifically enough, they were short and small and ultimately powerless. “Where are my limb enhancers?!”

“Aw, she’s even cuter when she gets angry!” Mabel quipped warmly. “She’s like… like a grumpy kitten!”

“Yeah!” Steven agreed with a good-natured chuckle. “Or an angry little slice of pie, right?”

“I am most certainly NOT that despicable abomination that called itself ‘Pyrite’ any longer!” Peridot snapped fiercely before letting out a frightened gasp. “W-wait… that… Cipher creature isn’t still lurking around here… is he?”

“Um… no,” Steven said earnestly, somewhat concerned upon seeing just how genuinely afraid Peridot seemed to be at the mere mention of Bill. “He’s gone, for now at least…”

“H-he better be!” the green Gem exclaimed, still clearly quite frantic. “I don’t ever want to so much as see that monster ever again after he tricked me into that disaster of a fusion! A-and not to mention what he did to my-” Peridot cut herself off as Mabel, quite out of nowhere, suddenly folded her into a light, cheerful side hug, one that baffled the green Gem completely given her ongoing fury. “Uh… what is this?”

“It’s a hug, silly!” Mabel laughed, maintaining the embrace. “I figured you needed a good one, since you were having a bit of a crazy meltdown there. Plus, I just couldn’t help myself. You’re so small and adorable and huggable!”

“Stop talking and release me from your death grip this instant!” Peridot growled, harshly shoving Mabel away from her and not even caring as she hit the floor.

“Hey!” Mabel protested with a sour pout. “That wasn’t nice!”

“I don’t care!” the green Gem shouted hotly, absolutely livid. “I demand to know what this place is, and where I-” Peridot once again stopped short as she finally stole a glance upward, her jaw dropping in terrified shock upon seeing the countless collection of bubbled Gems right above her head. “Oh my stars… You’re going to harvest me?!”

“No!” Steven interjected fretfully. “I mean, we were just—ow!” The young Gem flinched back as Peridot suddenly lashed out, slapping him squarely on the face. “Hey! That hurt!”

“…It did?” Peridot asked, glancing down at her small, fully connected fingers.

“Yeah, a lot,” Steven frowned, rubbing the side of his face only for Peridot to suddenly strike him once again. “Ow!”

“Hey, stop that!” Mabel rushed over to the young Gem’s side in an attempt to stop the green Gem’s sudden burst of miniscule violence. “We don’t hit people around here. That’s not what—ouch!” She cut herself off as she was suddenly victim to an unexpected slap from Peridot as well, who couldn’t help but let out a small, satisfied snicker at the discovery of her newfound ‘power’.

“Yes!” she cheered viciously, letting out a barrage of quick, relentless slaps on both of the kids. “Feel my unbridled rage!”

“Ow! Ow!” Mabel cried, trying in vain to block the green Gem’s continuous small, sharp blows. “S-Steven, is it too late or too early to fuse into Maven to stop this?!”

“Oh, you will do NO such thing!” Peridot hissed, pausing her attack briefly. “That four armed nuisance was the catalyst for my defeat and I will not allow you to-”

“Hey!” Steven took his chance to grab the green Gem’s wrists to keep her from hitting them any further in an attempt to get her to calm down. “Hey… hey. What’s that on your shirt?”

“What’s a shirt?” Peridot asked, glancing down at the finger Steven was pointing at her chest only for him to swiftly bring that finger up to flick her on the nose. “Ow! Augh! That does it!”

Fully provoked, the green Gem picked her ongoing assault up exactly where she had left it, resorting to tackling the pair with largely directionless, yet painful slaps. Despite their attempts to escape from her range, Peridot was persistent, essentially chasing them around the burning room and never letting up even once amidst her palpable fury.

“Ok, do you really have to keep hitting us like this?” Mabel struggled to ask between strikes.

“Yeah, w-why are you acting like this?!” Steven implored, holding up a hand as he ended up stumbling to the ground.

“You stabbed me into a limbless cloud!” Peridot ranted as she continued her attack. “You trapped me in your bubble dungeon! And you called me… cute!” At this, the green Gem attempted to come in with a full on punch, one that Steven and Mabel only narrowly stepped out of the way of, allowing Peridot to trip and fall on the ground nearby.

“We didn’t poof you!” Steven insisted firmly.

“You helped,” Peridot pointed out, sending them a cross glare.

“No, we—ok, well I guess we sorta did,” Mabel admitted awkwardly. “But that’s only ‘cause you were fused with Bill! We had to stop you somehow. But that doesn’t matter right now. What does matter is that we wanna help you! That’s why we let you out!”

“…Why would you make such a miscalculation?” the green Gem asked, pulling her legs to her chest as she looked to the pair suspiciously.

“Back at the warp pad,” Steven began, kneeling down in front of Peridot as Mabel did the same. “What were you trying to say? Why do we need you? What do you know?”

“What do I know?” Peridot scoffed, as though the answer was obvious. “Only everything there is to know about the Cluster, you pebble!”

“Cluster?” Steven and Mabel both asked in unison, exchanging a curious glance before the former picked up on the latter part of what the green Gem had said. “Wait… pebble?”

“My mission!” Peridot snapped angrily. “The reason why I’m on this sad, corn-infested rock in the first place! I was to check progress on the Cluster! Just in and out before it hatches. I wasn’t supposed to get stuck here, or make ill-conceived deals with well-dressed triangles, or be forcibly ‘married’ to a bunch of ‘gnomes’!”

“Oooo, girl, tell me about it!” Mabel exclaimed with an empathetic, knowing grin.

“But I’ve been sidetracked far too many times and now its too late!” Peridot continued, genuine fear filling her frustration. “It’s going to emerge and nothing can stop it and we’ll all be shattered!”

“Ok, ok, wait,” Steven interjected rationally, wanting more information on what this apparent threat was. “Slow down. From the top: emerging… hatching… Clusters?”

“Oh yeah, is it a bad thing?” Mabel asked just as intently. “Cause from the way you’re making it sound, it seems like it could sorta be a bad thing…”

Peridot paused at this, looking between the kids with a rather unreadable expression before leaning in somewhat. “You wanna know?”

“Yes,” Steven said as Mabel nodded in insistent agreement.

“You really wanna know?”

“…Yes?”

The green Gem was quiet for another short beat before suddenly pointing down at Steven’s chest. “What’s your shirt?”

“Oh, these are my banana pajamas,” Steven grinned before Peridot suddenly flicked him in the nose, just as he had done to her. “Ow! Hey!”

“S-Steven!” Mabel gasped, quickly jumping to her feet as she helped the young Gem do the same. “Look!” She frantically pointed at Peridot, who had already put quite a bit of distance between herself and them as she scurried off towards the room’s nearby exit.

“W-wait! Don’t run away!” Steven called, hurrying after her.

“Don’t worry!” Mabel assured, reaching into her night shirt. “She won’t be running for too much—aw, nuts!” she huffed in disappointment as her search came up empty. “I left my grappling hook in the house!”

“Ha! Try and catch me now, you impertinent clumps!” Peridot taunted back at them, chuckling manically as she quickly climbed up towards the temple gate. Knowing that they couldn’t simply let her escape with the seemingly important information she had at her disposal, the kids gave chase, though they were ultimately unable to stop her from rushing out of the temple and into the house itself.

“S-stop!” Steven yelled as he also hurried out through the gate with Mabel not too far behind. “They’re gonna see you!”

This warning fell on deaf ears, however, as Peridot continued gleefully celebrating her victory, unaware of the trio of Gems congregated in the kitchen, even as she passed by it. “Yes! Freedom is mine!” she proclaimed, stopping short right before the door leading outside. One single glance over her shoulder, however, made her realize this freedom might be short lived as she made eye contact with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, all of whom were absolutely shocked to see her free and on the run once again.

“Wait!” Steven and Mabel cried, hurrying to throw themselves between Peridot and the Gems before any kind of altercation could take place. Unfortunately for them, however, the green Gem only succeeded in making things even worse than they already were.

“L-look!” she exclaimed, pointing upwards in the hopes of diverting the Gems’ attention. “Another planet to betray!”

Needless to say this ploy didn’t work as the Gems instantly summoned their weapons, sending her a resilient glare that easily conveyed their intentions to recapture her immediately. Peridot choked out a frightened gasp but all the same, she turned on her heel, running off without any sort of delay. “Retreat!” she cried, scrambling over to the front door, only for Garnet and Pearl to block her path, weapons drawn and ready to attack.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Pearl exclaimed, taking a swing that Peridot only narrowly dodged as she ran on all fours up the loft stairs, only to find Amethyst casually waiting on Steven’s bed, her whip coiled up in her hands.

“Heeeey,” the purple Gem greeted with a smug smile, one that sent the green Gem fleeing in terror once more.

“H-hold on a second, you guys!” Steven implored his guardians as they continued chasing Peridot around the house, even as the green Gem faceplanted flat onto the floor below.

“Y-yeah, there’s no need to resort to anymore violence!” Mabel urged, only to cringe slightly as Garnet almost punched Peridot clean in the face.

“Get her!” the Gem leader shouted, running after the green Gem as she began to make a beeline for the now unblocked door.

“You’ll never take me alive, you filthy traitors!” Peridot snarled as she leapt for the door, ripping through its lower screen and right off the edge of the front porch with a loud crash. The Gems were more than prepared to rush after her, however, they were stopped just short of the door by Steven and Mabel jumped directly in front of it.

“Wait!” Steven exclaimed, throwing his arms out wide. “You guys have to stop chasing her!”

“What? Have you guys gone totally nuts?” Amethyst asked incredulously.

“She just escaped again,” Pearl huffed impatiently. “Of course we have to chase her!”

“But-” Mabel attempted to interject, only for Garnet to intervene and gently move them both aside.

“We can talk later,” she said succinctly, tossing the door open as Amethyst and Pearl hurried out first. “But for now, don’t let her get away!”

Steven and Mabel only took the time to exchange a brief, anxious glance before they also followed the Gems outside into the night. Even from the porch, they were able to spot Peridot, who still had an impressive lead over the Gems, largely since she was mostly falling down the hill rather than running down it. The green Gem let out an array of pained, frustrated shouts as she rolled down the incline, only coming to a stop as she crashed hard into the side of the Mystery Shack. Dazed from the fall, Peridot picked herself up rather groggily, only to quickly shake herself out of it as soon as she realized the Gems were still on her tail.

“Peridot!” Garnet shouted fiercely, Amethyst and Pearl running right behind her with their weapons still at the ready to take her out all over again. Peridot let out a startled cry and took a very brief second to glance around frantically for any kind of escape, only to interestingly enough, find one directly above her head. One of the shack’s smaller windows hung partially open, just wide enough for the green Gem in her now compact, diminutive size, to squeeze through. And with the Gems mere seconds away from converging upon her and capturing her, it was an opportunity that Peridot didn’t hesitate to take.

Which was why she climbed, or rather, scrambled up the nearby trash can, nearly falling off of it entirely as she used it as a boost into the open window. However, as Peridot clumsily slipped in through the window and into the shack’s kitchen, she failed to initially notice that she wasn’t the only one in the room.

“Do do do do, gettin’ a midnight snack, do do,” Stan sang to himself as he rifled through the fridge for said snack, finally settling on a leftover sandwich and a can of Pitt Cola. However, what the conman wasn’t prepared for as he closed the fridge with food in hand, was to turn around only to find a small, green figure falling down from the window behind him and faceplanting hard onto the floor.

“W-what the-?!” Stan exclaimed in alarm as he accidentally dropped his snack. Peridot bolted upright with a gasp upon realizing she had been caught, only to let out a catlike hiss at the conman as she grabbed a pan that was resting on the nearby counter.

“Stay back, you over-aged human!” she barked threaten, holding the pan out like a weapon. “I have a… blunt force object and I am not afraid to use it!”

Upon hearing this warning, Stan simply let out an unimpressed scoff, crossing his arms as he looked down to the petite green Gem. “Yeah, like I’m afraid of some vegetable gremlin with a frying pan,” he remarked sardonically before taking a second glance at Peridot. “Wait a second, aren’t you that loudmouthed green punk who-”

The conman didn’t get a chance to finish for at that exact moment, Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl all burst into the shack through the front door, rushing into the kitchen to find none other than Peridot standing out in the open for them to catch. “Hey! Hey!” Stan interjected hotly, none too pleased by the late, unwelcome intrusion. “What’s the big idea here?! You three can’t just break into somebody’s house in the middle of the night so you can-”

“After her!” Pearl shouted, pointing directly at Peridot, who didn’t hesitate to fearfully flee once more. However, with far less space to work with this time, the ongoing game of cat and mouse between the green Gem and her trio of nemeses became even more frantic and intense. Peridot made good use of her smaller size to get the higher ground on the counter, even going as far as to climb up on top of the cabinets before jumping onto the fridge. All the while, the Gems did their best to try and wrangle her in, with Pearl tossing spear after spear as Amethyst lashed her whip out recklessly. Needless to say that as this chase carried on into other rooms throughout the shack, it was causing quite a bit of destruction in its wake, something that set Stan off in particular, especially as they rushed through the gift shop and the museum.

“Hey! Careful with the merchandise!” the conman warned as he followed after the Gems as they pursued Peridot. “You break it, you bought it, you little green runt! Same goes for you three!”

“Not now, Stan!” Pearl huffed, swinging her spear out in the hopes of hitting Peridot only to knock over a display rack instead.

“Yeah, we gotta catch ourselves a clod,” Amethyst smirked as she tossed her whip again, though once more, Peridot narrowly dodged it.

“As if!” the green Gem shot back as she continued running around frantically. “Also, how dare you call me by my insult, you CLOD!”

***

As this chaos continued to unfold upstairs, down in the author’s private study, Dipper and Ford were largely initially unaware of it amidst their ongoing discussion regarding a certain twisted fusion. “I can’t believe it,” Ford mused intently as he paced around frenetically. “Bill fusing with Gems… its completely unheard of! Not to mention utterly terrifying, all things considered.”

“I know, right?!” Dipper exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat. “We barely managed to beat Pyrite even after all of the Gems fused. Just imagine if Bill fused with a Gem whose even stronger than Peridot was!”

“Oh believe me, I already am imagining it…” the author said gravely, sparing a brief glance at the rift sitting on the desk nearby. “With his ability to both possess and fuse with Gems, all it would take would for Bill to find the right one, drag them to earth and then he wouldn’t even have to bother with breaking the barrier or stealing the rift. He could just obliterate it, the house, and all of us in an instant.”

“W-well, that’s… encouraging…” Dipper said, clearly frightened by such an alarming prospect.

“Don’t worry,” Ford assured, placing a comforting hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “Between the two of us, I’m sure we’ll be able to figure out some way to protect the rift and stop Bill once and for all.

“Like…?” Dipper ventured, hoping that the author had a rather immediate plan in mind to do just that.

“O-oh… well…” Ford glanced away, scratching the back of his neck rather awkwardly. “We can-” The author stopped short, raising a curious eyebrow as he glanced up at the ceiling, hearing a rather muted thumping clatter coming from directly above them. “Do you hear that?”

By the time Steven and Mabel breathlessly arrived at the shack, the entire building was in complete and utter disarray. Furniture had been flipped, windows broken, plates and pans strewn across the kitchen while souvenirs and attractions were tossed all about the gift shop. Yet even still, neither Peridot nor the Gems had won this frantic, ongoing chase, as the green Gem had evaded capture, though her foes were really only a few steps behind her all the while. The pair of kids gasped in alarm as the collective group rushed past them and up the stairs to the second floor, including Stan as he ran after the Gems, yelling his angry protests to the destruction they were causing all the while.

“We gotta stop them before they poof her again!” Steven exclaimed fretfully. “Come on!”

Mabel gasped in flustered surprise as the young Gem suddenly grabbed her hand, hurriedly leading the way up the stairs as they both joined in on the chase as well. However, it didn’t end up going on for too much longer as Amethyst lashed her whip out once more in a strike that Peridot only barely managed to swerve out of the way of. Inevitably, she ended up tripping as a result, though this time, she maneuvered herself to fall sideways, or rather, into the open doorway right beside her. The green Gem didn’t waste any time as soon as she realized she could cut herself off from her foes and, in one swift movement, far too quick for anyone to even try to stop, Peridot slammed the door shut tightly in all of their faces, locking it tightly behind her.

“You may have won the war, but the battle isn’t over, Crystal Clods!” Peridot laughed in her apparent ‘triumph’ as everyone was forced to stop short in front of the door. The door the green Gem had effectively trapped herself behind.

“Uh… should we tell her that’s the bathroom?” Mabel asked, nodding to the door.

“Eh,” Amethyst simply shrugged as the other two Gems honed in to listen to the green Gem muse to herself in her new “hiding spot”.

“Hm… it seems as though I discovered some sort of archaic think chamber…” Peridot speculated as she walked around the bathroom, investigating the toilet, sink, and other features. “Roomy. With a hint of Earth citrus. The perfect crossroads for my escape!”

“Ugh, its locked!” Pearl huffed as she tried to pull the door open in vain.

“Peridot! Open the door!” Garnet commanded, pounding on it heavily before Stan stepped in to do the same.

“You better get out of there you pointy little freak!” Stan threatened gruffly. “Its bad enough I have to deal with Amethyst comin’ in here and messing up the place all the time-”

“Aw, c’mon, Stan,” Amethyst smirked, elbowing the conman’s knee. “You know you love it.”

“I actually don’t, but even if I did, I’m not about to let some mouthy green midget do the same on my watch!” Stan snapped, knocking hard on the door once again only to be met with the sound of flushing on the other side.

“Uh, if you’re trying to flush yourself down the toilet, it won’t work,” Amethyst called to the green Gem, who was in the midst of sullenly doing just that in a rather lame escape attempt. “Trust me, I’ve tried.”

“Hey, what’s going on?” Dipper cut in as him and Ford arrived in light of the former din of the chase. “We just heard a whole bunch of noise downstairs. Is something wrong?”

“I’ll tell ya what’s wrong,” Stan crossed his arms and scowled at the bathroom door. “These three let some four-foot queen of the geeks lock herself in my bathroom!”

“My bathroom,” Ford corrected, sending his brother a critical look.

“Yeah, that’s what I said,” the conman said rather obliviously.

“Ugh, what really happed is that Peridot somehow escaped from the temple,” Pearl explained, exasperated. “Which makes no sense! We bubbled her and everything!”

“Yeah, we did!” Dipper exclaimed, shocked to hear such alarming news. “W-well, I mean you guys did, but I poofed her! How could she have gotten out and made it all the way down here?!”

Steven and Mabel exchanged a brief, awkward glance upon hearing the ongoing confusion, though neither of them were really sure how to explain the truth of the matter as the debate continued. “Uh, maybe we need a bigger bubble to hold that big head of hers,” Amethyst suggested sardonically.

“My bubbles are fine,” Garnet assured coolly, still leaving the majority of the group with no answers whatsoever. As this unwitting discussion went on (amidst Stan angrily interjecting every now and then to speak his piece about how he wanted Peridot out of the bathroom), Steven and Mabel couldn’t help but feel mutually guilty for the difficult spot they were now in. And, sure enough, that guilt inevitably led them to finally reveal who was really responsible for the green Gem’s escape.

“Uh… actually…” Mabel interjected into the conversation, raising her hand somewhat awkwardly as Steven glanced away. “W-we sorta… kinda… maybe… let Peridot out of her bubble.”

For a moment or two in the immediate aftermath of this stark revelation, the most anyone could really do was stare at the pair in stunned silence, their expressions awash in disbelief. That is, until Dipper finally broke it. “You did what?!” he asked, his tone and his expression harsh enough to make Steven and Mabel both flinch.

“Steven! Mabel!” Pearl scolded, just as displeased. “Why would you kids do such a thing?! Especially after how long it took us to finally capture her!”

“Because she knows something!” Steven exclaimed defensively. “Something that’s made her scared!”

“Duh,” Amethyst rolled her eyes. “Homegirl knows we’re gonna beat her into a green pancake.”

“No, not because of us,” the young Gem clarified. “Because of something called… ‘the Cluster’.”

“Cluster?” Garnet repeated, crossing her arms. “That’s new.”

“Did she tell you anything else about this so-called ‘Cluster’?” Ford asked, also quite curious.

“Uh… somethin’ about it being her mission?” Mabel shrugged. “I dunno, she talks really fast when she’s angry.”

“Her mission, hm?” Pearl mused worriedly. “Well if it’s the reason why she came to Earth in the first place, then its likely nothing good…”

“That’s right, you dirt bombs!” Peridot shouted from inside the bathroom as she climbed up onto the sink. “You don’t even know what’s coming! You’re all gonna—ooooo…” The green Gem trailed off, her train of thought all but abandoned as she noticed her own reflection in the mirror in front of her.

“Hmph, I’m tired of playing these games with her,” Garnet huffed, knocking on the door once more. “If we can’t fight her, then fine; we’ll talk. Peridot!” The Gem leader’s sudden call was enough to startle the green Gem into slipping off the sink and onto the floor. “Alright, no more fighting,” Garnet tried to rationalize as calmly as she could. “Let’s just have a civil conversation.”

“As if I’d ever negotiate with you, you filthy war machine!” Peridot yelled viciously, instantly eliciting the Gem leader’s ire.

“Ok, let’s kick her butt,” Garnet scowled, summoning her gauntlets without a second thought only for Steven and Mabel to intervene once more.

“Wait!” Mabel exclaimed as they put themselves between the incensed Gem leader and the bathroom door.

“Yeah, destroy me again and have fun talking to me when I’m in a bubble!” Peridot goaded as she hung from the shower curtain, only to bring it down with her as she fell with a momentous crash.

“Aw, come on!” Stan groaned in severe aggravation. “She already tore up the entire shack; why’s she gotta wreck the bathroom too!? I count my money in there! Among… other things!”

“Well, its not like we can very well just go in there and kick her out, Stan,” Pearl remarked dryly. “I really hate to say it, but… unfortunately, if she has information, she’s more valuable to us like… this…”

“What?!” Dipper interjected in outraged disbelief. “No way! We can’t just let her stay out and unbubbled like this! Especially not after what happened with the whole Pyrite thing!”

“I’m afraid that we don’t really have too much of a choice, Dipper,” Ford said rationally. “None of us know what this supposed Cluster is. If it really is something dangerous, then we have to seek answers concerning it straight from the only source we have at our disposal. Even if that source is… well…” The author trailed off, nodding towards the locked bathroom door just as the bathtub faucet turned on.

“H-hot! Hot! Hot!” Peridot screamed, resulting in yet another noisy clatter as she broke something else.

“You have to turn the knob the other way for cold!” Mabel informed brightly.

“B-but this is crazy!” Dipper protested intently. “Peridot could be lying about this whole ‘Cluster’ thing for all we know!”

“That’s just it,” Garnet said, adjusting her shades. “We don’t know.”

Dipper was more than prepared to keep his upset argument against the green Gem’s relative freedom going, however, before Stan cut in crossly. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold everything!” the conman exclaimed, disgruntled. “You all aren’t really about to let that little punk squat in my bathroom, are you?”

“Again, my bathroom,” Ford said, annoyed.

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Well, what other option do we have?” Pearl scoffed. “Keep her outside on a leash?” At this, the white Gem let out a bit of a laugh, one that died out as she began to seriously consider the idea.

“W-well… what if one of us needs to use the bathroom!?” Dipper asked, trying to come up with some way to deter from what he believed to be an ill-fated plan.

“What, like right now?” Amethyst asked, leaning against the wall.

“Um… y-yeah!” Dipper asserted even though it was something of a lie. “Which means we need to get Peridot out of there and back in a bubble. Right now!”

“Pfft, just go in the woods, bro,” the purple Gem retorted with a smirk. “Pssshh. Like a beaaaar.”

“Ugh! What’s with you guys and making us pee outside?!” Dipper groaned in obvious frustration as he stormed off, wanting no parts of willingly harboring the green Gem whatsoever.

“Well, I have fun doing it…” Amethyst shrugged, not seeing what the problem was.

“I can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but I’m with the kid,” Stan scowled petulantly. “That green munchkin doesn’t have to go home but she sure as heck can’t stay here.”

“Well… maybe she won’t have to,” Mabel interjected thoughtfully. “We could always try asking her about the Cluster nicely. Maybe if we make her feel like we’re not gonna poof her at any minute, then she might actually wanna tell us something!”

“I doubt that’s going to work…” Garnet said as Peridot continued making an unknown ruckus inside the bathroom. “This is going to be tricky…”

“No, it won’t be because you three are gonna get her outta my bathroom and deal with this stupid mess on your own!” Stan huffed hotly.

“For the last time, Stanley, its my bathroom!” Ford snapped disapprovingly. “And as far as I’m concerned, even though I’m not fond of the idea of keeping a potentially dangerous Homeworld Gem locked inside of it—even if the possibility for undiscovered research is quite enticing—that’s where she’s going to stay. At least until she breaks her stance of silence on this mysterious ‘Cluster’.”

“Ha! I’ll never break for you pathetic CLODS!” Peridot threatened before letting out a shrill shriek as she slipped and fell on the floor once more.

“Ugh, fine!” Stan growled bitterly. “Do whatever the heck you want. But if that puny freak gets her grubby little hands on my collection of rare imported soaps I stole from the Dominican, then I’m gonna boot her outta this house myself!”

With that, the conman swiftly turned on his heel and left, grumbling angrily about this unwelcome situation to himself all the while as he headed back to bed. Ford and the Gems only briefly exchanged a beleaguered glance at this before diving right back into discussing how their current captive’s custody was going to work.

“Well, these circumstances certainly aren’t… optimal…” Pearl said with a small sigh. “It’d be better if we held Peridot somewhere closer to the temple, just in case she tries pulling any of her tricks…”

“One of us will just have to stay here and guard over her then,” Garnet concluded.

“Oh! Oh!” Steven cut in with an excited smile as he raised his hand. “I volunteer! I volunteer!”

“Now Steven,” Pearl said firmly. “That means you have to keep a close eye on Peridot when we can’t. And it certainly means that you can’t let her out again, at least until we get this whole Cluster thing figured out. Understood?”

“Um… yeah, sure,” Steven said with a bit of a halfhearted smile, not particularly fond of keeping the green Gem prisoner like this. Still, anything was better than keeping her alone and unformed in a bubble, as far as he was concerned.

“You guys got nothing to worry about!” Mabel chimed in enthusiastically. “I’ll help Steven watch Peri to make sure she doesn’t get up to any sneaky shenanigans! Together, we’ll be the funnest bathroom prison wardens ever!”

A small, uncertain beat of silence passed as the Gems looked to each other dubiously at such a claim, though thankfully, Ford cut in to reassure them. “Not that we don’t… trust you kids or anything, but just to be safe, I think I’ll take the liberty of helping out this… surveillance effort,” he said, sparing a brief, determined glance up at the bathroom door. “Plus, in the event that Peridot does end up breaking out of there, I have about 27 different all-purpose weapons in my collection that could destabilize her form in a heartbeat so we should have all our bases just about covered.”

Upon hearing this rather alarming statement, Steven and Mabel exchanged a rather worried glance, hoping that things wouldn’t resort to such violent straits. Even so, with their plans fully laid out, Ford and the Gems gradually began to make their way downstairs, wisely discussing their concerns regarding both the green Gem as well as the dream demon she had recently fused with. As they left, Steven and Mabel mostly lingered near the bathroom, with the young Gem’s expression slowly spreading into a wide grin as he turned to face his friend.

“Mabel, do you know what this means?” he asked brightly, gripping her shoulders gently.

Mabel froze, her heart practically racing a mile a minute as she noticed this, and though she wasn’t sure where such apparent affection was coming from, she was more than ready to take it all the same. “Y-yeah… I do…” she smiled dreamily, closing her eyes and slightly poising her lips for what she had been hoping for for so long now. Only to not actually receive it after all.

“Extended slumber party!” Steven cheered, shaking her by the shoulders a bit and rattling her out of her fantasy.

“O-oh, yeah…” Mabel blushed, glancing down in severe embarrassment. “Slumber party… wooo…”

“Though, I guess this slumber party action is gonna have to wait until tomorrow…” Steven noted as he stole a glance out the nearby hall window to find the light of dawn just starting to pour in through it. “It’s already morning! Man, time really flies when you’re fighting a Gem-demon fusion and then busting that same Gem out of her bubble.”

“Yeah, I bet it does…” Dipper spoke up, his arms crossed and his expression sullen as he leaned against the railing at the top of the stairs at the far end of the hall.

“Aw, come on, bro-bro, don’t be all grumpy about this,” Mabel frowned. “We had to let Peridot out! She knows some sorta secret biz that the rest of us don’t!”

“Or maybe she just told you guys that to convince you to let her out!” Dipper countered angrily. “Honestly, what were you guys thinking?! How could you possibly think you can trust her after she made a deal with Bill?!”

“Uh… no offense, Dipper, but didn’t you make a deal with Bill too?” Mabel retorted, sending her brother a knowing look.

“T-that doesn’t matter!” Dipper refuted, flustered and upset. “What matters is that she’s still a Homeworld Gem, whether she has any kind of information or not. Don’t you guys remember how her ship nearly destroyed the town!? Or how she interrogated Lapis and forced her to come back here just so she could end up trapped with Jasper at the bottom of the lake?! Peridot’s awful and she deserved to be defeated and she deserves to be bubbled, not free to run around just because you guys think she might know about something about would could very well just be nothing!”

“Dipper…” Steven began with a calm, sympathetic frown. “I know Peridot’s done a lot of… bad things, but this ‘Cluster’ thing does seem like its real and important. That’s why we gotta at least try to convince her to tell us what it is. And I think the best way to do that is by being nice to her!”

“…Sure, it is, Steven,” Dipper deadpanned, exasperated. “But if its all the same to you, I’m not about to take any chances with her.” At this, he rushed upstairs to the attic, hurrying back down with the Sword of Seasons securely strapped to his back. “If ‘being nice’ won’t get her to talk, I’m pretty sure this will.”

“Uh, maybe we can try talking to her without holding her at sword point the whole time…?” Steven suggested as he knocked on the bathroom door. “Peridot, can we come in? We need to get ready for the day.”

“No!” Peridot hissed on the other side of the door, firm in her stance to remain barricaded inside.

“Wait a sec, I got this,” Mabel smirked as she pulled out the green Gem’s former foot, which her and Steven had wisely decided to bring down from the temple. “Oh, Periiiii! We got a super special present for you if you let us in!”

A brief bout of silence passed at this, though sure enough, the door creaked open and Peridot glared out through the crack. Upon noticing the final remnant of her treasured limb enhancers however, she was completely unable to resist the ploy. With a disgruntled growl, the green Gem snatched her foot and pulled back, finally allowing the trio inside to see the mess she had made. The shower curtain rod had been completely torn down, towels and toilet paper were strewn everywhere and an entire bottle of shampoo had been dumped aimlessly out onto the floor. Even so, Peridot had taken to curling up in the far corner of the room as the kids entered, scowling distrustfully at the three of them and clinging tightly onto her foot all the while.

“What a great souvenir of that other time you assaulted me…” she grumbled sourly.

“Oh, right…” Steven said, looking away awkwardly. “We can always take it back if you-”

“N-no, it’s too late!” Peridot protested, pulling the foot away possessively. “You… wouldn’t happen to have the rest?”

“Uh… we… sorta threw them away?” Mabel said apologetically. “Sorry about that…”

“Ugh… figures…” the green Gem huffed in annoyed disappointment.

“Hey, be lucky that we didn’t decide to do the same with you,” Dipper remarked rather coldly, sending Peridot a harsh glower. “And honestly, if you don’t start talking soon, we still easily could.”

Peridot shrank back somewhat as Dipper nodded to his still sheathed sword, her eyes widening at the sight of the familiar blade before she forced herself to resume her ongoing deadpan attitude. “You keep that multipurposed hunk of metal away from me, you ‘Dipper’…” she muttered threateningly, though it was clear she was still somewhat afraid of the blade that had defeated her all the same.

“Yeah, for reals, bro-bro,” Mabel said, placing a comforting hand on the green Gem’s shoulder as she looked to her brother disapprovingly. “Poor thing’s already been through enough with that whole Pyrite mess. Don’t traumatize her even more!”

“Ugh! I thought I told you not to bring that shameful amalgamation up ever again!” Peridot exclaimed in genuine frustration before she curled up on herself even tighter, her voice growing small and fearful. “Its almost like I can still hear that Bill Cipher’s insipid laugh echoing in my head… o-or feel all sense of control of my own form being ripped away from me just so he could exact my vengeance out instead of letting me do it myself! What a completely wasted opportunity!”

“Do you even realize exactly who you fused with?” Dipper asked, crossing his arms as he scowled down at the green Gem. “Bill’s a literal nightmare demon who gets off on causing people as much pain as possible and wants to destroy not just the Earth but reality itself just for his own sick kicks. And that’s the kinda guy you let trick you into fusing just so you could beat us. So you know, nice going with all that since it totally worked out for you.”

Peridot was surprisingly caught off guard upon hearing such information concerning Bill, information that she had never really suspected since the dream demon had told her so very little of himself. “W-well…” she said somewhat meekly. “That explains a lot.”

“Aw, don’t feel bad, Peri!” Mabel reassured warmly. “After all, you’re not the only one who gambled on a bad deal with Bill and lost. Am I right, Dipper?”

“H-hey! Mabel!” Dipper exclaimed hotly before he let out a thoroughly frustrated sigh. “You know what? I’m done. I’m not gonna stand around here and waste my time trying to get information out of a Gem who’s nearly killed us several times. Good luck, you guys,” he remarked to Steven and Mabel as he curtly turned to leave. “I have a feeling you’re gonna need it. And as for you…” He shot a fierce glare Peridot’s way as she raised a rather confused eyebrow at his open hostility. “If you so much as even think about hurting either of them, then you’re gonna have to answer to me…” With one more nod back to the sword on his back, Dipper left, though even as he did he was still grumbling his frustrations with this newfound arrangement with the green Gem as he did.

“What’s his problem?” Peridot asked obliviously the moment he was gone.

“Y-you’re… gonna have to excuse Dipper,” Mabel chuckled awkwardly. “He… sorta kinda doesn’t like you. And by that I mean… he hates you.”

“B-but don’t take it personally!” Steven interjected with a smile. “I’m sure he’ll come around to you eventually, sorta like we already have!”

“Hmph, like I need your futile pity…” Peridot scoffed, glaring away from them. “Just you two wait. Soon enough, I’ll break out of here and find a way back to Homeworld before the Cluster even has a chance to emerge and there’s nothing you puny clods can do to stop me!”

“…Well, for now, could you pass me that toothbrush on the ground beside you?” Mabel asked, pointing it out. The green Gem eyed it suspiciously for a moment before swiping it up, holding it towards the kids threateningly.

“Is this a weapon?” she asked, hoping to use it if it was.

“Only for cavities,” Steven chuckled, amused.

Peridot took one more look at the toothbrush before deciding this was the truth and tossing it over to Mabel so she could brush her teeth. As the kids began washing up and getting ready for the day ahead, the green Gem cautiously observed them, poking frenetically around the sink as Mabel began flossing. “Is that a weapon?” the green Gem asked, nodding down to the hairy comb on the sink.

“Nah, that’s just the comb Grunkle Stan uses to brush out his gross old man back hair,” Mabel explained, sticking her tongue out playfully.

“Is that a weapon?” Peridot pressed again, this time to Steven as she noticed him wiping his face off with a towel.

“Hm… well, I guess it could be if you get it wet and roll it up,” the young Gem said, twisting the towel up a bit. Peridot gasped in fear as he held it up somewhat, jumping onto the toilet as she shielded herself from what she believed to be an oncoming attack. Steven and Mabel looked to each other upon seeing such panicky instincts, knowing that they certainly had their work cut out for them when it came to getting any sort of genuine answers out of the frightened green Gem. “Look,” Steven began earnestly. “I know you’ve been through a lot and that you’re scared, but neither of us are going to hurt you. And… whatever’s going on with the Cluster, we want to help.”

Peridot was quiet upon hearing this, her expression easing up as she sat down on the toilet lid and looked away thoughtfully. ���I doubt you can help me,” she said with an apprehensive sigh as she stole a brief glance down. “But I… appreciate the offer.”

“Yay!” Mabel cheered as she suddenly barreled into Peridot with an unexpected hug. “Look at that! You’re already on you way to becoming our new best friend, Peri!”

“Ugh, please,” the green Gem scowled, pushing her away. “After all the trouble you irksome pebbles have caused me, the last thing I want to be is your friend. By the way… what’s a friend?”

“Heh, we’ll have plenty of time to tell you all about that in a bit,” Steven grinned somewhat awkwardly. “For now, do you mind moving? I… kinda have to use that,” he said, nodding to the toilet.

Peridot raised a curious eyebrow as she glanced down at her porcelain perch, not having the faintest idea of what its purpose was as she posed a rather innocent question: “For what?”

Needless to say that neither Steven nor Mabel could hold back their laughter at this, which only served to confuse the green Gem even more. Despite her past actions and surly attitude, neither of them could deny that they had taken something of a liking to her, despite everyone else’s warnings against such a thing. Even so, unlike Dipper or the Gems or anyone else for that matter, Steven and Mabel weren’t about to turn a blind eye to the plight that Peridot seemed to be presenting. The Cluster was, by all accounts, a complete unknown, the truth behind its newfound mysteries being something that only Peridot herself seemed to hold the key to. And certainly, if they were ever going to unlock that mystery, whatever it was, then, as far as they were concerned, treating the green Gem with kindness rather than coldness was the best place to start.

However, even amidst their stalwart plan, neither of them could even hope to anticipate the magnitude of the immense danger that rested deep in the earth beneath their feet. Danger that, if left unchecked was just waiting to emerge and wreak a sort of havoc that no one, absolutely no one would be able to survive.

Next: 

[dabbledrabbleprose]

25. Christmas

A continuation off of my previous piece, Christmas Eve. I’d recommend reading it before this one.

 *   *   *   *   *

They celebrated the rest of Christmas Eve in their shared quarters, then spent the rest of the night in each other’s arms, discussing dates, colors, and other wedding plans. McCree wanted to hyphenate, Hanzo was still on the fence about it. They still had plenty of time to work it out, as they’d both agreed that a spring wedding would be best. They fell asleep wrapped around each other with their entwined futures laid out before them.

Christmas morning was quiet. Most of the Overwatch agents left over the holidays, returning to their own homes and families, and the only ones left at the Watchpoint were Winston and themselves.

“Mm…” Jesse rolled onto his side and draped one arm over Hanzo as his partner threatened to slide out of the bed. “What’re you doin’? It’s a perfect day to sleep in.”

“Nonsense,” Hanzo said, slipping out from under Jesse’s arm. “Winston will doubtless be making breakfast, and it would be inexcusably rude to ignore him. Get up. Get dressed.”

“I would much rather spend Christmas in bed with my fiancé,” McCree smiled. Fiancé. It felt good to say the word out loud.

“I know,” Hanzo said, sliding on a pair of loose slacks. “Get dressed anyway.”

Jesse groaned, but crawled out of bed and threw on a pair of sweatpants and a loose T-shirt.

“So, when are we gonna tell the rest of the team?”

“I was thinking tonight,” Hanzo said, putting on a pair of slippers. Silk slippers. God, he was high maintenance. Jesse loved him anyway. “When everyone starts arriving back at the Watchpoint.”

“Sounds like as good a time as any,” Jesse grinned and gave him a kiss on the cheek before heading out with him.

The officer’s mess hall was significantly smaller than the primary mess hall, but with so few people in the new Overwatch, it seemed unnecessary to draw a distinction between who used what facilities, especially when the officer’s hall had a much better kitchen and more comfortable chairs. When they arrived, they found that Winston had indeed made breakfast for three, even though they hadn’t committed to coming. Hanzo gave Jesse an ‘I told you so’ spoken only with his eyes and one raised eyebrow.

Jesse smiled and shook his head before leading the way into the kitchen.

“Aw, Winston! You make all this for little ol’ us?”

Winston turned around, wearing an oversized Christmas sweater that Ingrid had made for him. “Oh! You made it! I, uh…just thought it might be good to have a nice breakfast for Christmas morning. You know. Just being us and all.”

“Aw, well that’s mighty kind of you,” McCree smiled, one hand lazily entwined with Hanzo’s. “What spread have we got?”

“Oh, well. I made banana-nut pancakes with scrambled eggs, and there’s also kale and carrot vegetable smoothies.”

“Kale and veggies? That don’t sound like you,” Jesse said, dropping into a seat, though he was reluctant to let Hanzo go.

Winston made a face as he handed out plates of pancakes and eggs. “The…uh…diet Dr. Ziegler is insisting upon.” He began slathering his own pancakes with peanut butter.

“How’s that working out for you?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

McCree laughed and started pouring syrup over his own pancakes. “I hear ya.”

“Just as we do not speak of Dr. Zeigler’s recommendations for Jesse’s smoking habits,” Hanzo said.

“Or your drinking habits,” McCree countered with a grin, and took Hanzo’s hand again, giving it a squeeze. Hanzo couldn’t help but smile and leaned in for a kiss. Several long moments of gentle kisses and sweet words passed between them before they realized Winston was quite definitely still there. And staring, a fork halfway to his lips.

“Oh. Er…” McCree laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry about that. We’re just excited, is all.”

Winston’s golden eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them from behind his glasses.

“Excited about what?” He asked slowly and suspiciously.

Hanzo stiffened and McCree coughed nervously. “Oh…ah…well…we just…um… Just some good news to share is all.”

Hanzo shot him a warning look.

“Good news?” Winston asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Well, we were planning on waiting until everyone got back, so…”

Winston’s eyes shot to both of their left hands, then looked back up at them.

“I don’t see any rings.”

Both men sat ridged in their chairs.

“Why would you assume-” Hanzo barked at the same time McCree shouted “How did you know?!” They looked at each other, then Hanzo put his face in his hands in defeat.

“Wait,” Winston said, pointing at them. “So you’re actually…”

“Yeah,” McCree grinned sheepishly. “We were saving the announcement for tonight, but we’re getting hitched.”

He had expected Winston to cheer, or politely congratulate them, or even warn them about how this could endanger Overwatch Operations. What McCree wasn’t expecting was for Winston to lean over the table to look very intently between the two of them.

“Who proposed?” He asked, dead serious.

“Uh,” McCree said, a little intimidated by a five hundred pound gorilla looming over him, no matter how well he knew Winston. “Neither of us?”

Winston’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“We both independently decided to get engagement rings last night,” Hanzo explained, looking just as unnerved as Jesse felt. “We met in the jewelry store. That’s why we don’t have our rings yet. They’re still on order.”

“So…wait. Neither of you proposed to the other?”

Jesse and Hanzo exchanged a look.

“No?”

“It was just sorta…mutual engaging,” McCree said.

Winston pushed back and leaned back in his chair with a disgusted moan, putting his massive hands over his face.

“What?” McCree asked, feeling like he should be offended, but not quite sure what for. “What’s the matter?”

“Do you have any idea how much money was riding this?”

“I beg your pardon?” Hanzo asked, looking likewise affronted.

Winston sighed and dropped his hands, taking a big bite of pancake. “There’s been a running bet for the past…” he thought for a moment. “How long, Athena?”

“The bet was first initiated by Agent Tracer and Agent Genji seven months and four days ago,” The AI chimed in over the speakers.

“Yes. Seven months. For seven months, people have been placing bets as to which of you was going to cave first and finally propose. There was…quite a lot of money involved. I know Lena had at least seventy-five pounds riding on Hanzo being the one to ask.”

“Are you telling me,” Hanzo interrupted, slamming his hand on the table as he glowered at Winston. “that my own brother bet against me? That Jesse would be the one to ask?”

“That would be correct,” Winston said, adjusting his glasses and returning his attention to his pancakes.

“How dare he?”

Jesse grinned. “And now nobody wins? Because nobody asked?”

“Looks that way,” Winston said.

“What about you, who did you bet on, Winston?”

“Me?” he glanced up. “Oh, I didn’t place a bet. I abstained to be mediator. The arguments were getting…heated.”

“How much was in the pot?” Jesse asked, leaning forward in interest.

“Athena?”

“The total amount of currency riding in the betting pool for the theoretical proposal between Agent McCree and Agent Hanzo amounts to a total of eight hundred forty-three United States dollars.”

McCree leaned back in his chair and broke into unrestrained laughter.

Hanzo stared at Winston. “That is…a great deal.”

“Exactly,” Winston said. “There’s going to be a lot of disappointed people.”

“And that,” Jesse said, taking Hanzo’s hand in his. “is the greatest revenge for people trying to turn our relationship into a game. And that there is the best Christmas present of all.”

Hanzo smiled and kissed the back of Jesse’s hand. “You know, I think I’m quite excited for the party tonight.”

“You and me both, pumpkin.”

Winston held his tongue, but smiled as they returned to their breakfast.